Saskatchewan Official Seeks to Lower Injury Rates
Gord Moker, CEO of Safe Saskatchewan, is determined to reduce the number of injuries taking place in his province.
Previously employed as a Team Leader in Research & Revenue Services for the Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board, Moker was disturbed by an emerging trend: Saskatchewan had one of the highest workplace injury rates in the country.
Compounding this dismal statistic, it was discovered Saskatchewan injury rates away from work were among the highest in the country. Off-the-job injury rates were twice that of workplace injury rates. In addition, the permanent disability rate was four times higher and the fatality rate was five times higher away from work, than on the job.
Since 2004, Moker has been working with community leaders and numerous injury prevention organizations to bring about societal change. With a mandate of reducing the number and impact of unintentional injuries in the province, Safe Saskatchewan certainly has its work set out for them.
“We believe unintentional injuries, whether they occur at work, on the farm, at home, on our roads, or at play, are one of Saskatchewan’s primary health concerns,” says Moker. Each year in Saskatchewan, approximately 158,000 injuries are reported. “That’s one injury every 3.5 minutes,” Moker noted.
In addition, nearly 10,000 Saskatchewan residents are hospitalized due to injuries each year. This shocking statistic is twice the national average. “Each day in Saskatchewan, 26 people are hospitalized from injuries,” said Moker.
It is estimated 40% of emergency room visits come about as a result of unintentional injuries. Sadly, injuries claim the lives of 330 Saskatchewan residents each year, a statistic that is 1.4 times the national average.
Beyond the obvious concerns with such statistics, Safe Saskatchewan is concerned about the resulting financial impact these injuries are having on the provincial economy and to industry in the province. “Every year preventable unintentional injuries cost the Saskatchewan economy one billion dollars,” said Moker.
The Smartrisk Economic Burden of Unintentional Injury in Saskatchewan report, released in 2001, cites $595 million as the annual cost to the economy. When this is indexed to today’s dollar value, and when workers’ compensation, automobile and private disability insurer costs are added, Smartrisk’s estimate increases to $1 billion. This number is truly staggering and the equivalent of a $1,000 annual economic burden for every man, woman and child in Saskatchewan, with substantial adverse effects are impacting not only the economy of the province, but also individuals, communities and industry.
“At Safe Saskatchewan,” Moker says, “We strive to increase public awareness about this epidemic, support existing injury prevention initiatives throughout the province, facilitate provincial coordination of injury prevention programs and position injury prevention as a societal and individual priority. By working together, we can save lives and put an end to this silent epidemic.”
In addition to broad public awareness, Safe Saskatchewan supports and facilitates the coordination of various injury prevention programs and services throughout the province, including seniors’ falls injury prevention, agricultural injury prevention, off-the-job injury prevention with Saskatchewan industry, and education and awareness programs for children and youth.
Through these initiatives, Safe Saskatchewan aims to educate the public in an effort to reduce the number of injuries occurring.
“Our vision is an injury-free Saskatchewan where safe lifestyles influence how we live, work and play.” Moker says. “Even a 10 percent reduction in the number of injury hospitalizations would result in a minimum annual savings of $60 million to our economy.” (workersxzcompxzkit)
Of course, while financial impacts are cause for concern, the real goal for those at Safe Saskatchewan is to keep everyone safe and injury free.
As Moker says, “When we live safe, we improve the lives of the people in our province, enhance the economic environment for business and save millions of dollars in health and social costs.”
For more information on Safe Saskatchewan and the unintentional injury epidemic, visit www.safesask.com.
Author: Robert Elliott, J.D.
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