1. Contract and Vendor Management Stacia Hayes MBA, CHSP Environment of Care Program Manager Swedish Medical Center

2. Why we care who is working in our hospitals

3. Urethane Floor Work

4. Background  Swedish made the switch to a urethane wax product.  Lasts longer than traditional waxing  Done by a contracted company  Usually night shift  Several years ago a staff member had a reaction and was hospitalized in the ICU due to preexisting conditions that were possibly exacerbated by exposure.  Could not test employee to see what caused reaction because she was so sensitive.  Decision made to notify staff via email where work would be done and round with staff member that was hospitalized to make sure she did not go into area. We would also put up plastic to contain smell.

5. Fast Forward…

6. Investigation  Labor and Industries showed up for investigation  Internal Investigation paralleled L&I  Swedish did not have baseline data from Industrial Hygienist on exposure level to urethane  Contractor did work, but not in location of exposure  Contractors contract had not been reviewed internally and was out of date  Contractor did not have a safety plan as required by Law  Contractor did not have appropriate PPE for Employees

7. Investigation Cont…  Contractor was using chemicals that had not been approved by Swedish.  No oversight by Swedish of Contractor while at the hospital doing work.  PPE Assessments for all job classifications

8. Closure…  Decided to remove plastic from process due to not allowing airflow  Continue to notify staff where work will be done  Moving toward Paging Groups vs. email  3 rd Party Industrial Hygienist hired to get baseline  Obtained lab results, still waiting for report from IH  Urethane work re-started in January of 2013  March of 2013 Contractor’s contract terminated due to disregarding PCRA in Sterile Processing which could have caused patient harm.

9. Window Washers  South West Tower  Window washing during day shift right above the loading dock  Near miss

10. Pictures of the scene…

11. Follow-Up  Contract was up to date.  Contractor had an active safety plan.  Required Contractor to leave direct cell phone for emergency contact with Dispatch.  Contractor followed up with education with their staff.  Window work on this side of the tower is now scheduled during second shift or on the weekends.

12. Questions?