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Mercy nurse works to prevent on-the-job injuries

Health coordinator bring in new equipment, an appreciation of safety

The average nurse moves a ton of weight during a 12-hour shift.

For 30 years, Roxanne Hupp was one of them, but for the last five, her work has been dedicated to training nurses and others at Mercy Regional Hospital to protect themselves from illness and injury.

Earlier this year, she was among 41 Nightingale Luminaries recognized by the Colorado Nurses Foundation for innovation, advocacy and education for her work to reduce injuries as an occupational health coordinator.

Hupp, who has worked at Mercy for various stints since the late 1980s, won $45,000 in grant funding from Catholic Health Initiatives, Mercy’s parent company, for new equipment to relieve some physical strain from nursing. For example, the equipment helps move patients from one bed to another or from a bed to a chair.

Previously, Mercy didn’t have enough equipment and some of it was dated, she said.

The equipment introduced in 2012 and 2013 helped reduced serious injuries from moving and assisting patients by 25 percent in 2014. In 2015, injuries were reduced by another 10 percent, she said.

To further reduce risks, she has another grant pending to bring in more equipment for nurses, including a ceiling lift that can be attached to a walking harness to support people who can’t walk entirely on their own.

In addition to the equipment, a major focus for Hupp has been training nurses and aides to think through lifting or supporting a patient and not rushing in to help.

“They don’t have the much safer firefighter, police mentality: ‘Is the scene safe? Is this a maneuver that will keep everyone safe?” she said.

The cultural shift has been tough because some people felt that they couldn’t respond to patients as quickly using the equipment, she said.

“I think people are comfortable with habits ... especially if people have been doing a job for a long time and they think they are doing a good job,” she said.

Hupp also is involved in injury and illness prevention for all of Mercy’s employees, about 1,350 people.

She spends more than half her time outside the office working with employees on safety training, evaluating work stations and other tasks.

She meets with everyone who gets hurt at work and everyone who may have been accidentally exposed to an illness to find out what happened and provide training if necessary.

This kind of investigation was the focus of employee-health nurses, but that has shifted to promoting health and wellness for all. It’s a job that requires help from people across Mercy’s campus, she said.

“It’s definitely something I don’t manage on my own,” she said.

But after so many years as a nurse, the occupational health coordinator position appealed to her.

“I wanted to be part of a process I could watch develop,” she said.

Although additional education wasn’t required to become coordinator, she does attend monthly trainings, and she is working on an Occupation Health Nurse Certification.

At 60, retirement isn’t on her mind.

“I love what I do. As long as I’m physically able, I’ll be here,” she said.

mshinn@durangoherald.com



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