Meet our 2011 Innovation Award Winners

Ten deserving Fund members were named as the winners of the 2011 Innovation Awards for demonstrating excellence and innovation in their risk management initiatives, products, and programs. All attending winners were honored at the Annual Membership Luncheon at this year’s TASB RMF Members’ Conference (pictured below), and received a commemorative plaque and $1,000 to apply toward their ongoing risk management efforts. Continue reading for an overview of the 2011 award-winning entries. Refer to the “Downloads” box on the right to view a press release commending their efforts.

  Not pictured above: Pleasant Grove ISD and Willis ISD

Aquilla ISD – “CPR Awareness Day”
This past fall, in partnership with their local CareFlite, Aquilla ISD hosted its first CPR Awareness Day.  All high school students were provided basic CPR and AED training. The training included a demonstration of how to perform CPR and utilize a public access AED on an adult person in full cardiac arrest. Following the day of training, the same course was offered to parents and community members. All high school students in grades 9-12 were given the 30 minute presentation by CareFlite.  Following the presentation, each student was given a card that said they completed the program, listing the CPR steps.

Bandera ISD – “Report a Bully Tip Line”
In order to take a proactive approach to the situation and add value to on-campus education of teachers, parents, and students, Bandera ISD established a local tip line for reporting possible dangerous behavior or bullying in the educational community and providing real time information to administration. The “Report a Bully Tip Line” allows students, parents, and teachers to report suspicious behavior or possible bullying to a central tip line that is monitored from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. by a central office administrator. Any information received is immediately transmitted to the affected campus or department for consideration and possible action. End actions could be a parent call, disciplinary investigation, or procedural change to ensure safety. 

Covington ISD – “Child Sleep Monitors”
To ensure students were not left behind on school buses and that the buses were visible on the town’s winding hill country roads, Covington ISD installed Child Sleep Monitors on all of their buses. The monitors forced drivers to walk to the back of the bus to turn it off, thereby checking for sleeping children. The monitor beeps as soon as the bus is turned off; if not disengaged, the horn begins to honk. Strobe lights on the top of the buses make them very visible.

Deer Park ISD – Return to Work
Deer Park ISD had an excessive number of employees out due to WC-related injuries and implemented a modified light-duty Return to Work (RTW) program to get employees back to work in some limited capacity sooner than usual. This resulted in employees returning to work full-duty sooner, reconnecting with their peer group, and reducing the number and cost of WC-related injuries over a multi-year period. Cash outflows have decreased by over $200,000 since 2005-06, resulting in a 33 percent decrease in ultimate final costs of all claims and a 91 percent decrease in current claims costs.

Hallettsville ISD – Health Fair
Hallettsville ISD had its first ever Employee Health Fair in January 2009 and another in January of 2011, hosting 26 vendors from the Hallettsville community and surrounding communities. Each of the 26 vendors brought different information and screenings to over 140 employees in attendance and over $465 of donated door prizes. One hundred and ten employees were trained in CPR and defibrillation training along with 80 senior students. In addition to the Health Fair, the employees continue to receive staff education on health through brochures and e-mails throughout the year. Hallettsville ISD is also planning to host a Student High Risk Behaviors Health Fair in May of 2011.

Longview ISD – Vaccination Clinics
Longview ISD held and staffed on-site vaccination clinics at every campus and building in the district, including 10 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and 1 high school. H1N1 vaccinations were administered in late January/early February and 2nd doses or those who missed were administered in March.  Additionally, school nurses provided classroom instruction on proper hand-washing and other methods of infection control. 

Lubbock ISD – Health Screening Initiative
At the beginning of the 2010/2011 school year, a mass health screening initiative was provided for all Lubbock ISD employees at no cost to the employee. The screenings included blood pressure, BMI, body fat percentage, and a finger stick for total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, TC/HDL ratio, and triglycerides. All participants signed consent to release the health screening results to the wellness team only so abnormal findings could be followed. Of the 2950 insured employees, 2660 staff participated to receive a $25 per month insurance premium reduction. Following the screenings, the district wellness coordinator and wellness nurse contacted each person who had elevated values. The findings supported the necessity of this program: undiagnosed hypertension, elevated glucose levels, high cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, and significant weight management issues.  This provided the basis for individual follow up contacts that have been quite welcomed.

Mesquite ISD – Online Safety Seminars
Mesquite ISD’s risk management department developed online safety training seminars for campus personnel that were administered through the district's intranet system.  In 2009, the district purchased and began using an e-Learning software program primarily used by teachers to make curriculum more accessible to students. Campus employees can now conveniently sit at their own computers to attend safety training sessions at their leisure instead of interrupting their instructional duties to attend traditional group training. The system automatically logs all employees who view the training materials and administers a quiz to ensure comprehension. As an incentive, all employees who complete the training are entered into a prize drawing. On average the district reaches 950 campus employees per quarter who otherwise would not be exposed to safety training materials. This program has been invaluable because it has no affect on the risk management budget and employee feedback has been very positive.

Pleasant Grove ISD – Video Security System
With the passage of a bond issue, Pleasant Grove ISD installed a video security camera system in a new intermediate school, a new high school gym, and a new multi-purpose building. The system monitors student activities, vandalism, and burglaries 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The system has assisted the school with person identification associated with suspicious activity occurring on school property and also allows the district to monitor all areas of their property/liability assets. 

Willis ISD – Safety Performance Semester Program
In 2006, Willis ISD started a Safety Performance Semester Program consisting of three Safety Performance Semesters: Spring (Jan.-May), Summer (June-July), and Fall (Aug.-Dec.). In the program, Principals and Directors compete against each other to motivate their staff to think about safety. Campus and department performances are recognized at the end of each semester, and the collective safety performances of each campus or department’s staff determined their level of award(s). The top two levels receive prizes to be awarded to members of their staff by drawing names. Teams are also awarded medallions, which are mounted on their Safety Performance Plaques for public display. Everyone starts each new semester with a clean slate; injuries from prior semesters are not counted. The Superintendent has used the program to boost safety and performance recognition during the year instead of just at district meetings held at the beginning and end of each year.