1. Derinda Called the Meeting to Order

Safety Committee Meeting Minutes April 25, 2012 1. Derinda called the meeting to order.

2. Mary Beth attended the meeting in Andreia’s place and agreed to take the minutes.

3. Welcome guests…Jace Christensen and Grace Red Star were welcomed as guests. They introduced themselves to the committee and the committee did likewise. Members present were: Derinda, Marie, Jinger, Dave, and Penny. Members absent were: Andreia, Arlen, and Wayne.

4. Evaluate accomplishments from last meeting. a. The Billings WorkSafeMT conference was held February 27-March 2, 2012. i. Those who attended include: Derinda Gurley, Jane Crowder, Shanna Fredrickson, Dave Raynor, Mike Milohov, Jerry Dawson, Mike Gum, Tony Mullen, Anthony Hust, Alex Palmer, Greg Cox, Jim Clevenger, Bob Lesher, Ben Blonski, Dave Majerus, and Julie Johnson. ii. Classes attended include: Ergonomics in the Office, Defusing Hostile Behavior in the Workplace, Required OSHA training, Management and Prevention of Low Back Pain, Risk Perception, Emergency Action Plans, Missing Link to Reduce Worker’s Comp, Supervisor Safety Accountability, Effective Safety Management Systems, Preventing Injuries: Body Mechanics, Employer’s Role in Managing Workplace Injuries, and Job Specific Stretching. iii. Outcomes include: Re-evaluating Safety Policy, analyzing ergonomics in the workplace, removed unsafe weatherization equipment, safety guards installed for portable table saws, researching scaffolding, and fall protection for Wx staff. iv. If you would like for any of the above subjects to be presented to your group, see Derinda or Jane. v. Dave reported that he attended the OSHA training and came away with a different perspective of OSHA as a result. He suggested there be trainings for all of the employees at HRDC rather than just the Safety Committee. He let the committee be aware that there has to be a monitor when anyone is standing on a ladder or is at a height of over 4 feet. vi. Derinda reported ergonomic equipment that can be used in the office such as a round keyboard and a wireless mouse. She stated if anyone has a need for any equipment that would help him/her in the office, do some research and talk to their supervisor and Julie.

b. Kelly trimmed the low-hanging tree branch on the sidewalk.

5. Ideas for Safe Health and Stress Relief a. “Tai chi: Discover the many possible health benefits” handout. b. Several of the committee members did not know about Tai chi, therefore, Derinda gave further explanation along with a demonstration. c. Derinda will accept any suggestions for topics covering safe health and stress relief.

6. “Yellowstone Ready” info sent via email from Tess. Tess reported in her email the events that happened at a recent meeting regarding Vulnerable Populations Emergency Preparedness (VPEP) Planning for Yellowstone County. The VPEP’s main focus is to aid vulnerable populations, the elderly, children, the homeless and other hard to reach groups such as “shut-ins” during disaster level emergencies. The group is processing information such as how to best identify where to locate these folks, how to inform them of the services offered if a disaster occurred and the amount of time it might take to “get the word out.” There are areas in the community which are set up as a Point of Distribution (POD) such as the Shrine Auditorium, Lockwood School, Riverstone Health, both of the major medical centers, Skyview High School and others. HRDC has completed a plan with Yellowstone County identifying key staff as Incident Command Staff within the agency and providing the county with the phone numbers of these staff. There is the possibility that if needed, our building could act as a POD or at least provide an area of rescue.

7. Review of accidents: a. Jinger reported an accident that happened last week where a grandmother, mother and daughter were walking down the stairs in the front atrium area and the mother caught her toe on the rubber strip on the stair and slid down a couple of stairs bruising and scraping herself pretty badly. The conversation continued about the sloping of the stairs closer to the wall and the potential hazard of this condition. (The stairs were repaired the same day as the committee meeting.) No other reports were made.

8. Incident report of potentially violent client situations: a. Jinger reported an incident of a man on the second floor who was obviously inebriated. He left on his own, but later returned to the second floor. When he returned, an ambulance was called that came and picked him up. b. Jinger also reported an incident that occurred in the alley between HRDC and Alternatives where an HRDC employee was frightened by two guys who were up to no good. c. A client with MRSA was on the 2nd floor last week. The question came up as to whether it was permissible to ask the client to leave once a contagious disease was disclosed or if some type of poster could be placed in strategic areas to let clients know to stay away until they are cured of any contagious disease. d. An employee saw some clients who came in just before five in the afternoon. Luckily, other employees witnessed what was happening and did not leave until the clients had left her office. All HRDC staff should make arrangements for someone to stay with them if something like this occurs in the future.

9. Committee members to share comments from other employees. a. In the process of interconnecting smoke alarms in Wx/auditors/LIEAP/Youth areas and researching exit signs in Wx area. It will be looked into whether these items will be included in the remodel bid. b. The sloping of the entry stairs is being addressed. (This has been taken care of expeditiously by our maintenance crew. Thanks guys!) 10.Next safety meetings for the year will be Wednesdays, July 25th; and October 31st, from 9-10am.