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Occupational Safety and Health Administration Seal of the State of Illinois
Life Services Network LSN Trust

ANNUAL ILLINOIS LIFE SERVICES NETWORK
AND LIFE SERVICES TRUST ALLIANCE REPORT
July 15, 2008

I. Alliance Background

Date Signed.

March 13, 2006

Alliance Overview

During the three-year alliance, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the state of Illinois On-Site Safety and Health Consultation Service, the Life Services Network and the Life Services Network Trust will provide nursing homes in the state of Illinois with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect employees’ health and safety, particularly in reducing and preventing exposure to safety and health hazards found in nursing homes.

The alliance will also promote and encourage participation in OSHA's cooperative programs. These include compliance assistance, safety and health consultation programs, the Voluntary Protection Programs and the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program.

Implementation Team Members.

Nancy Quick, CAS, Aurora; Rita Mosley, Training Manager, Illinois Onsite Consultation Program; Karen Messer, Life Services Network; and Mike Miller, Life Services Network Trust.


II. Implementation Team Meetings

Email and phone contact was maintained throughout the year to address technical and training issues.


III. Activities and Products

Evaluation Period.

This report covers March 14, 2007 to March 14, 2008.

Alliance Activity.

The training video and companion workbook for “Slips, Trips, and Falls”, produced during the last evaluation period, continued to be distributed to LSN members.

Training was provided to LSN members on October 2, 2007. The “OSHA 101” session was attended by 50 members who work in assisted living and independent housing. It included the following objectives:
Review your responsibilities as an employer to ensure the safety and health of your employees under OSHA laws.

Discuss the components of OSHA compliance including recordkeeping, accident investigation, hazard identification, hazard prevention and control and, most importantly, leadership commitment to employee safety and health initiatives.

Evaluate your compliance status in particular areas including bloodborne pathogens standards, electrical safety, lockout/tagout requirements and other potential workplace hazards.

Take home solid information about how you can improve the safety and health of your workplace and remain in compliance with OSHA’ standards.
Comments were very positive and included the following:
This was a wake-up call for me and my facility. We are far from being in compliance.

Very Great. Beneficial. Liked his pace.

The short video clips of accidents were very dramatic.

Good info. Good handouts.

Thorough, practical, appreciate good real life examples.
In addition to developing and disseminating training materials, another goal of this Alliance is to increase participation by nursing homes in OSHA's cooperative programs, including the On-site Consultation Program and its Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP). To this end, an LSN Board member requested an Illinois On-site Consultation visit for the member's Oak Crest Retirement Center in DeKalb, Illinois. As a result of this visit and subsequent work to satisfy the requirements for SHARP, including implementing an effective safety and health management system, Oak Crest was approved as a SHARP site in December 2007. The LSN Board member has shared the facility's positive experience with On-site Consultation and SHARP with other LSN members.

Alliance Products.

No alliance products were produced during this evaluation period.


IV. Results

This Alliance has provided valuable technical information to nursing homes.

Type of Activity (Conference, Training, Print and Electronic Distribution, etc.) Number of Individuals Reached or Trained
Presentation for assisted living members, which discussed the components of OSHA compliance including recordkeeping, accident investigation, hazard identification, hazard prevention and control and, most importantly, leadership commitment to employee safety and health initiatives. 50
Total 50


V. Upcoming Milestones

The Alliance Partners will continue to meet to address emerging issues and develop strategies to address those concerns.

Report Prepared by: Nancy M. Quick, Compliance Assistance Specialist, Aurora Area Office.