Monmouth County takes a holistic approach to worker safety
This local government agency with impressive safety metrics is a winner of the 2021 Workers' Comp Risk Management Award. (Part 3 of 3)
There is not just one way to effectively manage a workers’ compensation program. But there are multiple ways to manage a successful program while promoting a culture of health and safety among employees.
That’s exactly what has driven the County of Monmouth in New Jersey to establish an award-winning program within the worker’s compensation sector.
Quite simply, Monmouth County has embraced the prevention strategy of promoting whole wellness and the benefits of working in a healthy and safe environment. To that end, the County’s workers’ compensation policy was recently revised to include a Safety Rescuer Program component. In conjunction with the County’s safety consultant, Monmouth staff identify and meet with employees who experience repeated safety incidents.
According to the County of Monmouth Safety Office and the Benefits and Workforce Wellness Division, the purpose of the meeting is to:
- Remediate unsafe conditions;
- Modify unsafe behavior;
- Identify potential training issues;
- Prevent reoccurrence; and
- Enhance departmental involvement in the safety process.
The county also is a recipient of the 2021 Workers’ Comp Risk Management Award for Excellence.
Embracing ergonomics
Monmouth County historically has been proactive in the area of ergonomics. For example, in 2020, an online ergonomic tutorial/reference was put in place to educate all employees on proper work station alignment and ergonomic principles. This tutorial can be found in the Safety Office database on the county intranet.
Ergonomic audits are requested either by the Workers’ Compensation Unit or the County Safety office. As the County of Monmouth Safety Office explains, they have been conducting ergonomic audits, which can be requested for general discomfort or as an accommodation, for close to 10 years.
“Should an employee request an accommodation such as a stand-up desk or ergonomic chair as a result of pain they are experiencing, the workers’ compensation unit will contact the safety office and an ergonomic audit will be scheduled with the County’s Safety consultant,” the Safety Office says. The consultant will generate a report that identifies specific employee needs and recommendations. The ergonomic report is sent to the employee’s department head who in turn utilizes this report to assist them in purchasing or replacing work station equipment. Once the equipment is received and in place, a follow up audit is scheduled with the safety consultant to ensure that all recommendations have been followed.
The county’s Safety Office receives and reviews all first injury reports from the workers’ compensation unit. According to the Safety Office, “if a repetitive injury is identified in one of these reports, the safety office will schedule an ergonomic audit with the County’s safety consultant and the same process as described above will be followed.”
In 2020, there were 11 ergonomic audits completed by the safety consultant. In 2021, the number of ergonomic audits declined to only four. “It should be noted that there were no further complaints from the employees in 2020 and 2021 once all recommendations were implemented,” the Safety Office says.
Overall wellness
Monmouth County also believes that with the right education, skills motivation and social support can change human behaviors. Healthy behaviors lead to lower health risks, which can have a positive impact on health care costs and reduced absenteeism.
“Our wellness approach is holistic in nature covering all aspects of wellness including nutrition, physical activity, mental health, financial health and family,” the County of Monmouth Safety Office says. “One focus of our wellness program over the past few years has been to increase engagement of the employees by offering a variety of programs of interest.”
Each year, Monmouth County offers a series of wellness events such as “Know Your Numbers” biometric screenings, an Employee Walk at Lunch program, Rutgers Workforce Wellness, the Pledge 10 weight loss event, and webinars to assist in behavioral health matters.
Having a dedicated Wellness Program Coordinator also has helped to increase engagement. Participation numbers and surveys from the various programs have seen positive results and increased engagement throughout the various departments in the county.
“Based on feedback from the employees we continue to offer new programs and make it easier for them to make positive changes to their health and overall wellness,” the County of Monmouth Safety Office says.
Streamlined return to work
The County of Monmouth also boasts a strong return to work program, which is based in the alternate duty portion of their workers’ compensation policy. As the County explains, they mandate that all departments establish alternate duties for employees who have sustained work-related injury or illness and their medical restrictions prohibit them from performing full duties.
“We have found that this benefits the employee by keeping them engaged in the healing process and they remain a valued part of their work team,” the County of Monmouth Safety Office says. “This benefits the County because this arrangement reduces temporary total disability payments and we often utilize the employee’s job knowledge and experience to help in other ways. In the past, employees were kept out of work, until they could return to full duty. This caused morale issues for injured employees and their co-workers and costs for overtime pay and disability payments were soaring.”
Looking ahead, the County of Monmouth will continue to promote its safety and wellness programs and embrace new technology and ideas. “We will also continue to evaluate the essential functions of our jobs and use the best practice standards for safely performing them,” the County of Monmouth Safety Office says. “We will strive to effectively communicate with and train our employees and provide all with a healthy work environment.”
Maura Keller is a Minnesota freelance writer and journalist.
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