Prevent injury, escape, cross-contamination, and unnecessary stress.
Foundations Academy · Lesson 5
Safety & Security
Safety at Hannah is not a binder on a shelf or a poster by the time clock. It is the sum of small decisions made by every Team Member on every shift — clearing a pathway, choosing the right glove, labelling a bottle, questioning a stranger in a restricted hallway, and speaking up the moment something looks wrong.
Estimated time
50–65 min
Nine modules with hazard-spotting grids, PPE selection, chemical location checks, waste sorting, emergency practice cards, radiation hazard identification, a security-controls activity, and a safety walk reflection.
Lesson objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Explain why safety is a shared responsibility held by every Team Member, in every role
- Recognize the six common hazard categories found in a Hannah hospital
- Select, don, and remove personal protective equipment for the exposure risk in front of you
- Use labels, Safety Data Sheets, and approved dilutions before touching any chemical
- Separate sharps, biohazard waste, contaminated laundry, and regular trash at the point of use
- Apply the six universal emergency priorities to fire, facility, medical, and security events
- Describe the time, distance, shielding, and monitoring principles that govern radiation safety
- Protect restricted areas, credentials, records, and controlled substances without sacrificing hospitality
- Report injuries, exposures, near misses, and unsafe conditions through the correct sequence
Prerequisites: Lessons 1–4. This lesson uses embedded knowledge checks within each module rather than a single final assessment, and closes with a safety walk reflection.
Module 1
Safety Starts With Me
Every safe hospital begins with one decision
I choose safety.
Safety is not limited to emergencies.
At Hannah, safety is reflected in everyday choices: keeping pathways clear, selecting the correct PPE, handling Pets within your training, protecting Member information, and speaking up when something does not look right. None of those decisions require a title or a certification — they require attention.
What Safety Protects
Maintain safe public areas, protect confidentiality, and communicate clearly during emergencies.
Reduce exposure to sharps, chemicals, radiation, infectious material, bites, strains, and falls.
Protect restricted areas, medication storage, equipment, keys, records, and emergency access routes.
Hannah Safety Principle — See something unsafe. Say something immediately. Do not assume someone else will report or correct the concern. Take accountability for making sure the right Team Member knows.
What You Will Practice
- Recognizing common workplace hazards
- Selecting and removing PPE safely
- Using Safety Data Sheets and chemical precautions
- Sorting sharps, biohazard waste, laundry, and regular trash
- Responding to fire, facility, medical, and security emergencies
- Understanding radiation restrictions
- Reporting injuries, exposures, hazards, and near misses
Knowledge check
Which safety responsibilities belong to every Team Member?
Module 2
OSHA & Workplace Safety
What OSHA means in daily work
Recognize hazards before they cause harm, and follow established controls instead of improvising.
OSHA standards exist to reduce workplace injury and illness. At Hannah they are not paperwork — they are the reason a corridor stays clear, a container gets replaced before it overflows, and a Team Member stops rather than guesses.
Six Common Hazard Categories
Blood, urine, feces, saliva, contaminated bedding, infectious Pets, and laboratory materials.
Cleaning products, disinfectants, medications, gases, and unidentified or improperly labeled containers.
Needles, blades, broken glass, and any item capable of puncturing skin.
Wet floors, blocked exits, unsecured cords, defective equipment, noise, and escape risks.
Unsafe lifting, awkward restraint, repetitive motion, and moving large Pets without enough help.
Ignoring warnings, rushing, bypassing a control, or performing a task outside your training.
OSHA non-negotiables. Use required PPE. Perform hand hygiene. Never place sharps in regular trash. Never push down an overfilled sharps container. Never mix chemicals unless the approved instructions specifically permit it. Report injuries and unsafe conditions immediately.
Practice: Find the Hazards
Select each hazard in the hospital scene. Each tile is marked once you inspect it.
Knowledge check
You notice an overfilled sharps container. What should you do?
Module 3
Personal Protective Equipment
PPE is the last line of defense
PPE does not replace hand hygiene, safe handling, isolation practices, proper ventilation, or following the approved procedure.
Personal protective equipment reduces exposure when a hazard cannot be eliminated. It is the final barrier — not the first plan.
Common PPE and What It Protects
Protect hands from bodily fluids, contaminated materials, certain chemicals, and medications. Change gloves between tasks and Pets.
Helps prevent contamination of scrubs and skin during isolation, heavy cleaning, or splash-risk tasks.
Used when the procedure or hazard requires respiratory protection. The correct type depends on the risk.
Protects against splashes, sprays, debris, and certain procedures.
Before putting PPE on. Know the task, identify the exposure risk, inspect the PPE, perform hand hygiene, and make sure the equipment fits correctly. Stop and ask for help when the required PPE is unavailable or you are unsure what applies.
Donning and Doffing
- Example donning order: gown → mask → eye protection → gloves
- Removal principle: remove the most contaminated items carefully
- Avoid touching your face or clothing while removing PPE
- Dispose of reusable and disposable items correctly
- Perform hand hygiene immediately afterward
Practice: Select PPE
Scenario: You are entering an isolation area to clean a kennel with contaminated bedding. Select the PPE that applies in this scenario, then check your selection.
Knowledge check
When should hand hygiene occur after PPE use?
Module 4
Chemical Safety
Hazard Communication
Every Team Member who works around chemicals must know what the product is, what hazards it presents, how to use it safely, what PPE applies, and what to do after a spill or exposure.
Four Things to Check Before Using a Chemical
The container must be clearly labeled. Never use an unknown or unlabeled product.
The Safety Data Sheet explains hazards, PPE, first aid, storage, spill response, and disposal.
Follow the approved instructions. More concentrated does not mean safer or more effective.
Keep chemicals in approved areas and separate incompatible products.
Never mix cleaning chemicals. Mixing products can create toxic fumes, heat, splashing, or reduced effectiveness. Do not guess. Stop, move away from exposure, warn others, and follow the SDS and emergency procedure.
Spill or Exposure Response
- Protect yourself and move away from the immediate hazard
- Warn others and restrict the area when needed
- Notify the appropriate leader immediately
- Use the SDS for first aid, PPE, and spill instructions
- Use the eyewash or other emergency equipment when indicated
- Document the exposure or incident as required
Practice: Location Awareness
Confirm that you know where each of these is located in your work area. Switch each one on once you can point to it.
Knowledge check
A Team Member mixed two cleaning chemicals and fumes are present. What is the safest first response?
Module 5
Waste, Sharps & Infection Prevention
Correct disposal prevents exposure
Waste must be separated at the point of use. Putting an item in the wrong container can expose another Team Member, contaminate clean materials, or violate safety requirements.
Waste Categories
Needles, blades, and other puncture hazards go directly into the approved sharps container. Never recap unless a specific approved procedure requires it.
Items saturated with blood or other regulated biological material go into the designated biohazard container.
Wear appropriate PPE, handle as little as possible, do not shake it, and keep dirty and clean workflows separate.
Only non-sharp, non-regulated, non-contaminated items belong in ordinary waste.
Sharps rules. Dispose of the sharp immediately after use. Keep the container upright and accessible. Do not reach into it, push contents down, or allow it to become overfilled. Report a puncture or exposure immediately.
Infection Prevention Basics
- Use standard precautions with every Pet
- Perform hand hygiene between tasks and Pets
- Keep clean supplies away from dirty work areas
- Use the correct cleaning product and contact time
- Follow isolation signage and traffic controls
- Ask for guidance before handling unfamiliar infectious risks
Practice: Sort the Items
Click an item, then click the correct disposal category.
Knowledge check
Which statement is correct?
Module 6
Emergency Action Plan
Why the plan exists
An Emergency Action Plan gives Team Members a consistent way to recognize an emergency, protect people and Pets, communicate, evacuate or shelter, and account for everyone afterward.
Universal Emergency Priorities
Identify the emergency and do not minimize warning signs.
Move yourself and others away from immediate danger when it is safe to do so.
Notify the appropriate Team Member, activate alarms or emergency services when required, and use clear language.
Evacuate, shelter, secure the area, or assist within your assigned role.
Report to the designated rally point or status location so people and Pets can be accounted for.
Complete required incident reporting and participate in follow-up.
Do not create a second emergency. Do not enter a dangerous area, attempt a task beyond your training, block an exit, or delay evacuation to collect personal belongings. Follow leadership and emergency responder instructions.
Common Hannah Emergency Types
- Fire, smoke, or alarm activation
- Power failure or critical equipment failure
- Gas, chemical, or unknown fume concern
- Earthquake or other natural disaster
- Human medical emergency
- Aggressive or escaped Pet
- Security threat or suspicious person
Practice an Emergency
Select an emergency type to review the correct first response.
Knowledge check
During an evacuation, where should Team Members go after leaving the building?
Module 7
Radiation Safety
Why radiation safety matters
Radiation exposure is cumulative.
Safe radiography depends on trained personnel, restricted access, correct positioning, appropriate shielding, exposure monitoring, and avoiding unnecessary repeats.
Core Radiation Principles
Reduce the amount of time near an active radiation source.
Increase distance whenever the procedure and assigned role allow.
Use approved protective equipment and barriers correctly.
Wear the assigned dosimeter badge as directed and never share it.
Restricted access. Team Members who have not completed the required Radiation Safety certification may not enter the X-ray room during radiographic procedures. Observing from inside the room is still exposure.
Before an Exposure
- Confirm that only authorized Team Members are present
- Use the correct protective equipment
- Position the Pet and equipment before activating the exposure
- Keep doors and controlled areas secured
- Avoid manual holding whenever approved alternatives are available
- Report damaged PPE or missing monitoring equipment
Practice: Identify Unsafe Conditions
Select each unsafe condition you would correct before an exposure.
Knowledge check
Which three principles reduce radiation exposure?
Module 8
Security & Controlled Access
Security is part of safety
Friendly service does not mean unrestricted access.
Hospital security protects Pets, Members, Team Members, medications, equipment, records, and restricted workspaces.
Controlled Access Expectations
Follow sign-in, escort, and restricted-area procedures. Do not allow someone to enter simply because they appear familiar.
Past employment does not create current access privileges. They follow the same authorization requirements as other visitors.
Keep them secure, report loss immediately, and never lend credentials to another person.
Lock screens, protect login information, and discuss Member or Pet information only with authorized people.
Maintain required storage, access, counting, and discrepancy-reporting controls.
Do not confront a threat beyond your training. Move to safety and notify leadership or emergency services as directed.
Challenge politely, escalate appropriately. A professional response can be simple: “This is a restricted area. Let me connect you with the appropriate Team Member.”
Practice: Set the Security Controls
Switch on every control that should be in force. Read each statement carefully — not all of them belong in the on position.
Knowledge check
A former Team Member asks to walk into Treatment to visit friends. What should you do?
Module 9
Reporting & Safety Culture
Reporting prevents the next incident
Safety reporting is not about blame. It allows Hannah to provide care, preserve facts, correct hazards, identify patterns, and prevent recurrence.
What Must Be Reported
Bites, scratches, strains, falls, needlesticks, chemical exposure, or any work-related symptom.
Contact with bodily fluids, hazardous chemicals, medication, radiation concern, or contaminated sharps.
An event that could have caused harm but did not. Near misses reveal risks before someone is injured.
Blocked exits, damaged equipment, missing PPE, overfilled containers, unlabeled products, or security concerns.
Reporting Sequence
- Stop the task and obtain immediate care when needed
- Make the area safe without putting yourself at additional risk
- Notify the appropriate leader immediately
- Preserve relevant information and do not alter the scene unnecessarily
- Complete the required documentation promptly and accurately
- Participate in follow-up and corrective action
Accountability & Follow-Through. Do not assume that mentioning a concern casually completes the process. Confirm that the right Team Member received the information and that immediate risk has been addressed.
Knowledge check
A near miss caused no injury. Should it still be reported?
Reflection & completion
Safety Walk Reflection
Identify three hazards you could look for during your next shift and describe how you would address or escalate them.
Lesson Complete
You have worked through Hannah's safety philosophy, hazard recognition, PPE, chemical precautions, waste segregation, emergency response, radiation restrictions, controlled access, and incident reporting. Mark the lesson complete once your safety walk reflection is saved.
This lesson uses the knowledge checks inside each module rather than a single graded assessment. Your reflection and completion status are stored in this browser only.