Dover AFB Clinic awarded world-class safety title

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Samuel Taylor
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  The 436th Medical Group Clinic was awarded the prestigious title of Voluntary Projection Program Star Site by officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration during a ceremony Nov. 7 at the clinic.

Col. Kevin Murphy, commander of the 436th Medical Group, accepted the award alongside Jerry Davies, union president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 1709, from Teresa Penn, OSHA region 3 administrator.

"Safety doesn't just happen," said Murphy. "It takes hard work, teamwork and dedication."

VPP Star Sites - less than 2,500 out of approximately 30 million businesses nationwide - voluntarily exceed the obligatory wet floor signs, handrails, and "lift with your legs" posters. They create a workplace in which injuries and illnesses are meticulously scrutinized and aggressively mitigated. Their methods range from an active online hazard reporting system to frequent briefings on current issues and solutions. On the small scale, they are saving employees from pain and poor health; on a large scale, they are creating a culture of safety that ensures maximum mission-completion capability.

Stephen Groller, safety and VPP officer with the 436th MDG, said this safety culture is alive and well among approximately 350 military, civilian and contractor employees that keep Dover AFB's medical mission moving.

"When employees of the medical group come to work, they are thinking about safety all the time," said Groller. "Bases are getting smaller, and can't afford to lose people because [it] affects them so much more than before. VPP and the safety culture are about a proactive approach to accident prevention, keeping people healthy and safe, and keeping Airmen at work and productive."

It seems to be working. From 2009-2011, the 436th MDG reported approximately one civilian workplace incident per 208,000 man-hours.

Airman 1st Class Paola Parreno, a medical technician with the 436th Medical Operations Squadron, said the success comes from a commitment to the safety culture by all levels of the chain of command, from the leadership that provides the safety culture vision to the Airmen on the floor who make that vision come to life.

"This isn't a program that is being pushed on Airmen by their leadership; everyone in the clinic takes safety seriously," said Parreno. "We don't wait to be briefed on issues before we address them; if we see a hazard, we work to solve it."

The clinic boasts incident rates significantly below the 2010 Bureau of Labor Statistics industry average: the Total Case Incidence Rate is 76 percent below, and the Days Away/Restricted/Transferred Case Incidence (DART) rate is 17 percent below. There have been no OSHA citations issued to the clinic within the past 14 years - evidence of the staff's dedication to employee and patient wellbeing.

This positive trend reflects a commitment made in April 2010 by base leadership and AFGE 1709 to push for the clinic to become Dover AFB's first Star Status site. From that point on, the clinic took the programs and processes already in place and raised them to industry-leading quality.

"[Achieving Star Status] took a lot of hard work because OSHA is so rigorous with the constant inspections," said Jerry Davies, president of AFGE Local 1709. "The men and women of the clinic deserve a lot of respect for reaching the highest level of VPP."

Davies said that the Star Status title required close collaboration between both military and civilian medical specialists.

"We have had a great partnership between our two organizations; we couldn't have achieved this if we didn't," said the union president.

Even with the safety culture now firmly in place at the clinic, the medical team is showing no signs of easing up. With a commitment to providing the best experience for patients, the inspections, briefings and reporting go on.

"At the clinic, safety is not a destination, but a journey," said Murphy. "We have a destination in mind; we reach that destination; and each time we do, we set our destination further out."