GMC Wins Governor's Safety Achievement Award

Glendive, Montana, May 21, 2014 - Glendive Medical Center (GMC) has received the Governor's Safety Achievement Award. "It's more important than ever that we are putting an emphasis on workplace safety. If a new staff member doesn't have the appropriate training on how to remain safe on the worksite, they're more likely to be injured, taking them off the job for an extended period of time, and costing businesses in productivity. By working together-employers and workers-I'm confident that we'll be able to continue to make safety a priority," Montana Governor Steve Bullock said.

In order to receive the award, GMC had to prove its compliance with the Montana Safety Culture Act and show a better than average workplace injury rate for the last 3 years. GMC submitted the application in April which documented employee safety orientation, task specific training, regular refresher training, GMC's safety awareness program, periodic self-inspection and accident or inspection investigation information. "This award reflects our relentless commitment to providing a safe environment throughout our facilities for patients, visitors and the employees as well. The programs we have in place have helped reduce work place accidents and thereby have reduced our lost work time and restricted days for our employees," Todd Opp, GMC Director of Support Services and Safety Officer said.

With roughly 450 employees, GMC has a Safety Committee made up of more than 20 members from different departments. The group is also divided into three divisions, Environment of Care, Patient Safety and Employee Safety. Each employee is required to complete safety training every year. This commitment has led to a low incident rate and a significant decrease in the number of lost work days. GMC won the same award in 2009 and was recognized by OSHA in 2012 with its Safety and Health Recognition Program (SHARP) designation. "It is my honor to recognize Glendive Medical Center with this award," Governor Bullock added.

For more information about GMC, visit www.gmc.org.