Lifting Programs Reduce Workers’ Compensation Costs
By: Steven Babitsky, Esq.

A recent study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that lifting programs do reduce workers’ compensation costs in long-term care facilities.

The article, Safe Listing Programs at Long-Term Care Facilities and Their Impact on Workers’ Compensation Costs (JOEM, 1/1/2013), concluded:

“We have shown that an increased emphasis on safe lift programs at LTC facilities is associated with fewer workplace injuries and lower workers’ compensation costs. More precisely, higher scores on the safe lift index, a measure of safe lift program elements and policies, are associated with both lower injury claims frequency and total costs. A facility’s commitment to effectively implement a safe lift program appears to be largely dependent on policy preferences and lift use perceptions of the DON. Indeed. 8 of the 11 variables making up the safe lift index reflect the rigor of policies, the role of training, and the stringency of the facility’s enforcement of its policies—all subject to the DON’s influence.  From our survey, we also see that merely having powered lift equipment, while necessary for a comprehensive safe lift program, is not sufficient to achieve the beneficial influence on worker injury we observed here.”

The SEAK 33rd Annual National Workers’ Compensation and Occupational Medicine Conference will be held on July16-18, 2013 on Cape Cod, MA and will cover numerous methods and strategies for reducing workers’ compensation costs and improving the care of injured workers.