Healthcare has been at the center of concern in the United States. Health impacts other sectors of the economy, such as infrastructure, education, development, and research. The United States government has continued to increase the amount of money dedicated to the health sector. The costs of accessing health in the United States have been on the increase. Healthcare in the United States is financed by the government, private insurance providers, and private employees. Injuries and deaths in organizations comprise one of the pertinent health issues in the United States. According to the United States Bureau of labor and statistics, in 2020, every seven seconds, a worker is injured at the workplace. This rate translates into 4.6 million each year. Workplace injuries are a pertinent health issue since statistics indicate that approximately 5 million people die each year due to workplace injuries.
Injuries at the workplace comprise of a significant performance hindrance in many organizations. Safety in the workplace is paramount, and workers would prefer working in an environment they feel safe compared to in unsafe organizations. Workers perform diversified functions that expose them to a wide range of risks and injuries. Employers play a critical role in increasing worker's safety in contemporary organizations (Johnson, 2020) . The National Safety and Council body ensure that preventable deaths and injuries are eliminated. The body has been leading in the workplace safety campaigns over the last 100 years. According to the body, in 2018, the number of deaths from injuries recorded could have been prevented amounted to 4,493. The national safety council has noted an increase in workplace injury deaths by 2% in 2017 and 2018 despite its intensive efforts.
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The cases of workplace injuries and deaths have been on the rise. There are several forms of workplace injuries and deaths. Some people in organizations are entrusted to lift and carry heavy objects, which result in musculoskeletal disorders. Falls are common in the workplace. According to the United States occupational safety and health administration, falls comprise the leading cause of injuries in the workplace, resulting in bones breakage, neck, and brain injuries (Terry et al., 2018). The organization needs to create awareness of the organization's risky places and adopt a floor that makes it safe for the workforce. The injuries in the workplace are not limited to physical injuries. In some cases, the workload can encourage brain complications. Many organizations in the contemporary world overwork their employees to obtain high profits from a limited staff capacity.
From the statistics mentioned above, it is evident that workplace injuries are frequent. The tools of work in organizations pose a threat and a danger to the health of the workforce. The workforce in healthcare facilities is faced with dangers of injuries from objects such as needles, among other tools. Organizations need to adopt an effective strategy of disposing of dangerous equipment and tools no longer needed.
Injuries and deaths in organizations have a detrimental impact on their reputation, employee turnover, and production. Injured employees cannot work or have reduced production. When an employee is allowed to stay at home for recovery, the organization's overall production is delayed. The costs of hiring temporary staff are high due to the costs of training. The injured workers can claim compensation from the organization, which would turn out to be costly for the organization (Johnson, 2020) . Injured employees might never get an opportunity to work in the organization again. This illustrates the loss of specialization and skill.
Injuries and deaths in the organization's workforce also impact negatively on the victim’s family. In some instances, the victims are the family financial supporters. Injuries deprive such families of basic life necessities. The victim's family is faced with high costs of medication, especially when the victim sustains serious injuries that their medical covers are exhausted. The death of a worker has a huge psychological impact on the victims' families (Beus et al., 2016) . The organization needs to explore opportunities to support the victim's family.
There are several safety measures that an organization should adopt to reduce the rate of workplace injury deaths. There is a need to establish regular workplace safety training patterns. The organization needs to develop a workforce safety culture. When the workers are trained on their safety at the workplace, they not only make themselves safe but also create a safe environment for each other. There is a need for the organization to achieve OSHA compliance to facilitate an increase in employee safety and wellbeing (Beus et al., 2016) . Emergencies in organizations are inevitable. The staff in the organization needs to be equipped with information on emergency preparedness. This will enable the employees to understand to know what they should do after, before, and during an emergency. Staff in the organization should be allowed to serve and train as safety instructors to increase other employees' safety. The organization needs to emphasize on storage of injuries data to facilitate decision making and offer solutions to manage workplace injuries.
The organization needs to be compliant with the various authorities that require organizations to put measures that increase the workforce's safety. Failure to comply with such regulations could attract high penalties. Organizations enhance worker's safety for their benefit. A healthy workforce has a high output, which drives the organization towards achieving its mission and vision. Increasing employee safety allows the organization to reduce costs associated with the training of new employees. The organization also benefits from specialization by having a healthy workforce.
Reference
Terry, D. P., Iverson, G. L., Panenka, W., Colantonio, A., & Silverberg, N. D. (2018). Workplace and non-workplace mild traumatic brain injuries in an outpatient clinic sample: A case-control study. PLoS one , 13 (6), e0198128.
Johnson, M. S. (2020). Regulation by shaming: Deterrence effects of publicizing violations of workplace safety and health laws. American Economic Review , 110 (6), 1866-1904.
Beus, J. M., McCord, M. A., & Zohar, D. (2016). Workplace safety: A review and research synthesis. Organizational psychology review , 6 (4), 352-381.
