Preventing the Ripple Effect: How Safe Habits Behind the Wheel Protect Patient Care at GLWCH

Official Statements

• General Leonard Wood Community Hospital, November 9: “FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — In the world of military medicine, the concept of preventative care is a cornerstone of daily operations. Clinicians routinely administer vaccines, schedule physicals, and run screenings to stop illnesses before they ever have a chance to take root.

  However, according to Josh Bates, the Safety Manager at General Leonard Wood Community Hospital, true preventative care does not stop when a healthcare provider clocks out and walks to the parking lot. It extends directly to the driver’s seat.

  Following a hospital-wide safety campaign specifically focused on automobile readiness, Bates highlighted how the very same discipline, focus, and preventative mindset required to save lives in a clinic are required to save lives on the highway.

  Driving Out Distractions: From the Highway to the Ward One of the most critical parallels Bates draws is the danger of split focus. On the road, distracted driving - such as texting or glancing at a phone - is a leading cause of catastrophic highway accidents. Inside the walls of a busy hospital, clinical distraction can carry similarly devastating consequences.

  "Like distracted driving, distractions in healthcare can lead to serious mistakes," Bates warns. "Distractions such as cell phones, unnecessary conversations, and multi-tasking can cause providers to miss important information or make errors when administering medications or providing treatment."

  Bates noted that by actively limiting distractions, staying strictly focused on the task at hand, and paying close attention to their immediate surroundings, healthcare providers can drastically reduce errors, ultimately providing safer, higher-quality patient care.

  Preventative Maintenance: Preparing for the Winter Road As the Ozarks transition into winter, bringing slick roads, freezing rain, and plummeting temperatures, Bates urges the GLWCH team to apply their clinical "preventative mindset" directly to their vehicles. Much like diagnosing a patient early, routine vehicle maintenance is designed to catch failures before they turn into emergencies.

  "Just as we focus on preventing illnesses before they occur, we should take the same approach to preventing vehicle accidents," Bates says. "Routine vehicle maintenance, including checking tires, brakes, lights, and fluid levels, can help identify potential problems before they become dangerous."

  With severe winter weather on the horizon, taking a few extra minutes to inspect a vehicle ensures that critical staff members aren't left stranded on the side of a frozen highway.

  The Human Cost: Protecting the Caregivers When a vehicle accident occurs, the impact reaches far beyond the damaged metal. For a military treatment facility, a single off-duty car mishap can send shockwaves through the entire healthcare delivery system. GLWACH’s emergency medicine teams witness the physical trauma of automobile accidents every day. But when the victim of a preventable crash is one of the hospital’s own clinicians, the facility’s collective ability to care for the Fort Leonard Wood community is directly compromised.

  "Losing a staff member to a preventable vehicle accident affects more than just that individual," Bates explains. "It can create staffing shortages, increased workloads for other employees, and impact our ability to provide timely patient care."

  By pairing safety education with vivid, real-world visualizations of accident causes, GLWCH aims to build an internal "alarm" in every employee's mind - prompting them to make the right safety decision in the heat of the moment.

  Ultimately, safety is a continuous cycle that links professional duty with personal responsibility.

  "Safety doesn’t stop when we leave the workplace," Bates emphasizes. "The same attention to detail and preventative measures we use to protect our patients should also be applied when we are behind the wheel. By making safety a priority both on and off duty, we protect ourselves, our coworkers, our patients, and our ability to accomplish our healthcare mission."