In her 20 years of service with the Henderson County fiscal court, Angela Comer has seen the importance of workplace safety firsthand. As a human resources specialist, Comer understood the connection that accidents can have on personnel, the ability of county government to effectively serve constituents and the fiscal court’s budget.
"For years, like many counties, we didn’t have a safety manager," Comer said. "It was left to department heads to ensure safety measures were being implemented. There was a period where we had quite a few workers’ compensation claims, and we were paying higher insurance premiums."
Henderson County recognized the need for change. In 2022, with support from KACo Safety and Loss Control Manager Michael Ray, the county took its first steps toward building a formal safety program by creating an internal safety committee.
Creating a safety culture
Like many organizations, Henderson County faced challenges when launching its new safety committee. The group has ten members, including department heads, a representative from the detention center and the sheriff’s office.
"It wasn’t well received at first," Comer said. "Trying to implement a safety culture can be difficult, especially when people are used to doing things a certain way. We made it simple in the beginning because we didn’t want to overwhelm the committee with everything that needed to be done."
The committee meets monthly to review workplace incidents, near misses and workers’ comp claims.
"It’s helpful for someone from a different department to look at the claim and say, 'Maybe if you try it this way, that will keep these accidents from happening again in the future,'” Comer added.
Once the committee reviews safety topics and goals for the month, members take that information back to their departments for discussion and training.
Recognizing success and looking ahead
In addition to improving safety protocols, the Henderson County has received grants to enhance workplace safety. With funding from KACo, the fiscal court installed a new paging and alarm system to conduct fire and tornado drills. Plans are also in place for more regular active shooter drills, in collaboration with the local sheriff's department.
In August, the county hired a full-time safety coordinator. The new position will be responsible for implementing best practices and addressing maintenance safety issues.
Advice for other counties
Henderson County’s safety program continues to evolve as the committee seeks to improve employee well-being and reduce workplace incidents.
For counties or organizations looking to start a safety program of their own, Comer encourages others to tap into available resources and fellow county governments.
"Just do something. Start somewhere. Rely on the team at KACo because they have people in place for that reason," Comer said.
The KACo Safety and Loss Control Department is committed to assisting all members of the KACo All Lines Fund (KALF) and the KACo Workers’ Compensation Fund to identify, address and correct adverse loss exposures to personal injuries, liability exposures and property losses. Click here to connect with a loss control specialist, learn more about training opportunities and download KACo’s safety committee toolkit.
