1. Slips, Trips, and Falls Healthcare Workers Slide Show Notes
Welcome to slips, trips, and falls training for healthcare workers. This session is for all employees.
Slips, trips, and falls are among the most common causes of injury on the job and at home. Everyone slips, trips, or falls on occasion. We tend to shrug off these accidents as just clumsy embarrassments. But they can result in serious and painful injuries.
We all need to recognize slip, trip, and fall hazards on the job and take proper precautions to prevent these accidents so that we can protect ourselves and our co-workers as well as our patients and visitors to our facility.

2. Session Objectives You will be able to:
Recognize slips, trips, and falls as a serious safety problem
Identify slip, trip, and fall hazards on the job
Avoid and eliminate trip and slip hazards
Use stairs and ladders safely to avoid falls
Minimize injuries if you do fall
Slide Show Notes
The main objective of this session is to help you avoid slip, trip, and fall hazards and prevent accidents. By the time this session is over, you will be able to:
Recognize slips, trips, and falls as a serious safety problem;
Identify slip, trip, and fall hazards on the job;
Avoid and eliminate trip and slip hazards;
Use stairs and ladders safely to avoid falls; and
Minimize injuries if you do fall.

3. What You Need to Know
Frequency and types of slip, trip, and fall injuries
Common causes of slips, trips, and falls
How to prevent trips and slips
How to prevent falls from stairs and on ladders
What to do if you fall
Slide Show Notes
During the session, we’ll discuss:
Frequency and types of slip, trip, and fall injuries;
Common causes of slips, trips, and falls;
How to prevent trips and slips;
How to prevent falls on stairs and from ladders; and
What to do if you fall.

4. Injury Statistics
There are over 265,000 nonfatal injuries from slips, trips, and falls
Slips, trips, and falls result in 17% of all nonfatal workplace injuries per year
More than 750 workers die each year in workplace falls
Patients and visitors can also become statistics
Slide Show Notes
Let’s begin by looking at some statistics about workplace slips, trips, and falls.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 265,000 workers in the U.S. sustained nonfatal injuries from slips, trips, and falls in a recent year, each resulting in one or more days away from work. Although some of these injuries were only temporarily disabling, others left workers permanently disabled.
Slips, trips, and falls result in 17% of all nonfatal workplace injuries, the highest frequency of injury of any single regulated activity.
More than 750 workers die each year in workplace falls.
Patients and visitors are also at risk of slips, trips, and falls in our facility unless we take proper precautions to protect them.

5. Types of Injuries Back or spine injuries Head injuries Muscle strains
Sprains and torn ligaments
Broken bones
Even death
Slide Show Notes
Usually slips, trips, and falls are minor and don’t result in injury. But sometimes these accidents are serious. As we said earlier, some are permanently disabling. And injuries can occur whether you fall from a height, like a ladder, or just slip or trip on ground level. Injuries resulting from slips, trips, or falls include:
Back or spine injuries that can cause paralysis in the most serious cases;
Head injuries that can include brain damage in the most serious cases;
Muscle strains;
Sprains and torn ligaments;
Broken bones; or
Even death—remember someone dies in a fall on the job practically every day.
Think about a slip, trip, or fall you or a co-worker has had. What kind of injury resulted?
Describe any slip, trip, or fall accidents that have occurred in your facility and specify the type of injury that resulted.

6. Common Causes of Slips, Trips, and Falls
Messy work areas
Inadequate lighting
Not watching where you’re going
Running or walking too fast
Spills and wet floors
Slide Show Notes
Common workplace hazards that lead to slips, trips, and falls include:
Not keeping work areas neat and orderly, not picking things off the floor, and so on;
Poor visibility caused by inadequate lighting or burned out lights in halls, stairwells, and outside;
Not watching where you’re going or carrying something you can’t see over;
Running or walking too fast; and
Spills and wet floors.

7. Common Causes of Slips, Trips, and Falls (cont.)
Clutter
Open drawers
Flooring problems
Failure to use handrails going up or down stairs
Lack of caution on ladders
Wearing inappropriate shoes
Slide Show Notes
Other common hazards include:
Clutter on stairs or in walkways;
Open drawers in offices, kitchens, labs, supply rooms, and other places;
Uneven, defective flooring, worn stairs, or worn spots in carpets that nobody has bothered to report or fix;
Failure to use handrails when going up or down the stairs;
Lack of caution on ladders; and
Wearing shoes that are not appropriate for the workplace or the job.
Take a moment to consider all the slip, trip, and fall hazards in your work area or anywhere else in the facility.
Ask trainees to identify any slip, trip, or fall hazards that they have noticed anywhere in the facility.

8. Eliminate Trip Hazards
Put things away after use
Pick up items you see on the floor
Step over or around obstructions
Walk slowly and change directions slowly, especially when carrying a load
Watch for changes in floor levels
Report lighting problems
Slide Show Notes
You don’t have to fall from a great height to get injured. Many fall injuries occur on level ground when people trip over unexpected objects in their path. Here are some important ways to help eliminate trip hazards:
Keep your work area neat and tidy. Put things away after use;
Pick up items from the floor, even if you didn’t put them there;
Step over or around obstructions, not on them;
Walk slowly and change directions slowly, especially when carrying a load;
Watch for changes in floor level—such as a few steps or a ramp up or down; and
If lighting is inadequate or bulbs are burned out, report the problem to maintenance right away. Outside, use a flashlight at night if you need more light coming to or going from the facility.

9. Eliminate Trip Hazards (cont.)
Don’t leave boxes, bags, tools, or other materials on the floor
Don’t block walkways with carts, wheelchairs, or other equipment
Don’t leave cords or power cables in walkways
Don’t place anything on stairs
Don’t leave drawers open
Slide Show Notes
Here are some additional tips for eliminating trip hazards:
Don’t leave boxes, bags, tools, or other materials on the floor;
Don’t block walkways with carts, wheelchairs, or other equipment;
Don’t leave cords or power cables in walkways;
Don’t place anything on stairs; and
Don’t leave drawers open.
Can your think of any other steps you could take to eliminate trip hazards in your work area?
Ask trainees to suggest any other steps they can take to eliminate trip hazards in their work area.

10. Watch Out for Slip Hazards
Clean up spills, drips, and leaks immediately
Put up signs or barriers to warn about wet floors
Put down mats on wet days
Wear shoes with nonskid soles
Walk slowly and slide your feet on wet, slippery surfaces
Report icy spots outside
Slide Show Notes
It’s easy to slip on wet or smooth surfaces, and down you go. To avoid slip hazards, be sure to remember these important tips.
Clean up spills, drips, and leaks immediately, whether they are in halls, patient areas, laundry, food service areas, lab, pharmacy, or anywhere else you find them. If you can’t do it yourself, report the problem to housekeeping and ask them to take care of it right away.
Put up signs or barriers to warn people when floors are wet, slippery, or otherwise hazardous.
Also put down mats on wet days near entryways to help keep floors dry.
Wear sensible shoes with nonskid soles, and wipe your feet when you come inside if they’re wet from outside.
On wet or slippery surfaces, walk slowly and slide your feet.
Finally, be sure to report icy spots outside right away so that they can be sanded.
Can you think of any other steps you could take to eliminate slip hazards in your work area?
Ask trainees to identify any other slip hazards in their work area.

11. Keep Alert and Use Common Sense
Be aware of the hazards
Pay attention to where you are going
Adjust your stride according to the walking surface
Make wide turns at corners
Don’t block your vision when carrying items
Slide Show Notes
Of course, one of the best ways to prevent slips and trips is to keep alert and use common sense.
Always be alert to all the potential slip and trip hazards.
Pay attention to where you’re going. Watch out for potential hazards.
Adjust your stride according to the walking surface. Slow down on slippery surfaces, ramps, stairs, or in areas where there are obstructions in your path.
Make wide turns at corners. If you try to take a sharp corner and plant your foot to cut and turn, that foot could be planted on a slippery surface and cause your feet to slide right out from under you.
And, when carrying objects, do not carry so many items that your forward vision is blocked. Make sure you can always see the floor in front of you, especially when traveling up and down stairs or ramps.

12. Slip and Trip Hazards
Do you understand the information presented so far?
Slide Show Notes
Now it’s time to ask yourself if you understand what we’ve discussed so far about slip and trip hazards.
It’s important for your safety that you remember this information and act on it every day on the job.
Answer any questions trainees have about the information presented in the previous slides.
Conduct an exercise, if appropriate.
Now let’s continue to the next series of slides where we’ll talk about avoiding falls on stairs and from ladders.

13. Be Careful on Stairs Use handrails Walk—don’t run
Inspect for slippery surfaces or damaged steps
Do not put objects on steps
Be especially careful when carrying a load
Slide Show Notes
Stairs can be dangerous, especially if you’re not taking precautions.
Always be sure to hold onto the handrails going up or down. Even the most athletic person can trip on the stairs and fall. The handrail gives you that extra point of contact.
Walk up and down stairs. Running or jumping just increases the possibility of falling.
Inspect the steps for slippery surfaces, such as wet spots caused by spills. Check for damaged steps. Be careful on carpeted steps because they can also be slippery.
Avoid putting objects on stairs. Many people have the habit of putting objects that they intend to take upstairs later on the bottom steps of the stairs. However, someone else unaware of the object could fall or trip over it.
Finally, be especially careful when carrying objects while going up or down stairs. Try to leave one hand free for the handrail.
Think about a stair accident that you’ve had or heard about. How could this accident have been prevented?
Describe any accidents that have occurred on stairs in your facility. Why did they happen? How could they have been prevented?

14. Choose the Right Ladder for the Job
Step stool
Stepladder
Straight ladder
Extension ladder
Slide Show Notes
Preventing falls from ladders starts with choosing the right ladder for the job.
For example, a step stool might be just what you need to safely get to an item on a shelf that is just out of reach.
For getting at higher places, use a stepladder. You should have several different heights to choose from.
If you need to go higher, don’t stretch or overreach. Instead, use a straight ladder of the right height.
If you need to go even higher, use an extension ladder.
What are some of the jobs you perform that require you to use a ladder? What different kinds of ladders do you choose?
Discuss jobs trainees perform that require them to use some kind of ladder. Talk about proper choice of ladder for each task mentioned.

15. Ladder ‘Don’ts’
Don’t stand on the top two steps of a stepladder or the top three rungs of a straight or extension ladder
Don’t place a ladder on boxes or barrels to gain height
Don’t join two short ladders together to form a longer ladder
Don’t use a box or chair in place of a ladder
Slide Show Notes
Here are some things you should never do when using a ladder:
Don’t stand on the top two steps of a stepladder or the top three rungs of a straight or extension ladder;
Don’t place a ladder on boxes or barrels to gain height;
Don’t join two short ladders together to form a longer ladder; and
Don’t use a box or chair in place of a ladder.
Think about any ladder accidents you had or heard about. What caused the accident? Was it one of these mistakes or some other kind of risky behavior?
Describe any ladder accidents that have occurred in your facility because of one of these mistakes or some other kind of risky behavior.

16. Set Up Ladders Correctly
Place ladders on a firm, level surface
Take precautions when setting up in front of a door
Make sure stepladder braces are fully extended
Position straight and extension ladders properly (4 to 1 rule)
Watch where you lean ladders
Secure ladders top and bottom
Slide Show Notes
To prevent falls you have to know how to set up the ladder correctly.
Place a ladder on a firm, level surface, and check to make sure it’s stable. Use wide boards under a ladder if the ground is soft.
Never set up a ladder in front of a door unless the door is locked or a guard is posted on the other side.
Make sure the braces on stepladders are fully extended and locked in place.
Position straight and extension ladders so that the bottom of the ladder is 1 foot from the wall for every 4 feet of height. An easy way to remember the 4 to 1 rule is to divide the number of rungs from the bottom of the ladder to the support point at the top by 4. For example, 12 rungs divided by 4 equals 3. Place the bottom of the ladder 3 feet from the wall. Also, regardless of the height of the ladder, always be sure it extends at least 3 feet above the landing level. And be sure extension ladder locks work properly.
Never lean a ladder against a surface that isn’t strong enough to support your weight or an object that might move.
And finally, be sure to secure straight and extension ladders at the top and bottom.

17. Climb and Descend Safely
Wear proper shoes
Allow only one person on the ladder at a time
Face the ladder when climbing and descending, and hold onto rails with both hands
Carry tools so hands are free
Hoist up materials once you’re up
Slide Show Notes
Even if the ladder is set up right, you also have to climb and descend safely or else you could fall. Here are some safety tips to remember:
Wear shoes with clean nonskid soles—not leather soles;
Allow only one person on a ladder at a time;
Face the ladder when climbing up or down, holding the side rails with both hands;
Carry tools up or down on a belt, shoulder strap, or with a rope or hoist; and
Hoist up materials once you are firmly fixed atop the ladder.

18. Climb and Descend Safely (cont.)
Keep one hand on the ladder while you work
Keep your body centered
Don’t overreach
Move slowly and cautiously
Never slide down a ladder
Slide Show Notes
Here are some more tips for climbing, descending, and working on ladders safely:
Work with one hand on the ladder, keeping tools and materials in a hanger or holder;
Keep your body centered on the ladder as you work;
Don’t overreach—get down and move the ladder instead;
Move slowly and cautiously, and never move the ladder while you’re on it; and
Never slide down a ladder.
Do you always follow the safety precautions we’ve discussed about setting up, climbing, descending, and working on ladders?
Demonstrate the proper way to set up a ladder, climb and descend, and work on a ladder. Also demonstrate proper procedures for getting tools and materials up when you are working on a ladder.

19. Inspect Ladders Before Each Use
Be sure to check:
Joints
Hardware and fittings
Moveable parts
Ropes
Safety feet and locks
Rungs and steps
Slide Show Notes
Ladders should be inspected before each use to make sure they are in good, safe condition. For example, check to make sure that:
Joints between the steps and side rails are tight;
Hardware and fittings are secure;
Moveable parts operate freely;
Rope on extension ladders is in good condition;
Safety feet and locks are in good condition; and
Rungs and steps are free of grease and oil.
Do you always inspect a ladder before use? You should. It only takes a minute and it could save you from suffering a painful injury.
Demonstrate the proper procedure for inspecting a ladder before use.

20. Stair and Ladder Hazards
Do you understand the information presented in the previous slides?
Slide Show Notes
Do you understand the points we’ve made about using stairs and ladders safely to prevent falls? This information is important to your safety. Many falls and injuries at work and at home involve stairs and ladders.
Answer any questions trainees have about the information in the previous slides.
Conduct an exercise, if appropriate.
Now we’ll talk about what to do if, despite your best efforts, you do slip, trip, or fall.

21. What to Do If You’re Falling
Bend elbows and knees to absorb shock
Roll with the fall
Tuck your head
Use hands and forearms to break the fall
Yell or exhale as you fall
Slide Show Notes
If a fall occurs, you can minimize injury by falling correctly. Here’s what to do:
Bend elbows and knees to absorb the shock of the fall;
Roll with the fall;
Protect your head by tucking toward a collarbone;
Use your hands and the insides of your forearms to help break the fall; and
Yell or exhale as you fall. The reason for this is that you’re better off in a fall if your body is relatively loose and relaxed. Yelling or exhaling helps accomplish this goal.
Think about a fall you’ve had. Did you use this technique to minimize injuries? If not, remember it so you can use it next time.
Demonstrate the correct way to fall in slow motion. (Be sure to use an exercise mat or some other cushioning to break your fall.)

22. What to Do If You’re Injured
Report the incident to your supervisor
Get medical attention
Follow doctor’s orders
Slide Show Notes
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try to prevent it, you will fall. If you are injured—no matter how minor you think it is—be sure to:
Report the incident to your supervisor. Your supervisor needs to know about any employee injuries. They may need to be recorded. Your supervisor also needs to know so that any hazards that may have caused a slip, trip, or fall can be corrected. Don’t worry, you won’t be blamed or penalized for reporting an incident.
Get medical attention. Falls can cause serious physical problems if injuries are untreated. With the proper treatment you can be back on your feet and free of pain much more quickly.
And be sure to follow doctor’s orders. Take prescribed medications. Give injuries time to heal. Participate in recommended physical therapy.
You should always report workplace accidents—no matter how minor. Do you know how to report an accident? If you’re not sure, ask your supervisor about the proper procedure.
Discuss procedures for reporting slip, trip, and fall incidents. Also emphasize the importance of getting checked out after an incident to see if there is any injury or need for treatment.

23. Key Points to Remember Keep walkways clean and clear
Clean up spills promptly and pick up trip hazards from the floor
Make sure stairs and ladders are safe and use them carefully
Walk slowly, watch where you’re going, and wear proper shoes
Don’t carry loads that block your vision
Slide Show Notes
Here are the main points to remember from this session on slips, trips, and falls:
Keep walkways clean and clear;
Clean up spills promptly and pick up trip hazards from the floor;
Make sure stairs and ladders are safe and use them carefully;
Walk slowly, watch where you’re going, and wear proper shoes; and
Don’t carry loads that block your vision.
This concludes the slips, trips, and falls training session.
Give trainees the quiz, if appropriate.