FROM STAFF REPORTS

Every five days, one teen is killed on the job.

According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety, there are about 70 work related fatalities per year among this youth population. More than 200,000 young workers are injured on the job, and 70,000 of them require emergency room or hospital treatment.

Further, youth workers continue to have the highest rates of work-related deaths. Injuries and illnesses easily double and in some cases triple that for any other age category.

In an attempt to decrease the staggering number of these preventable injuries and deaths, the CareerSafe online youth safety initiative was established. The students complete a 10-hour online course through the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Eighty-nine students from the Shelby County School of Technology Health Care Science Program have completed the CareerSafe program since 2007.

Students from this program will participate in hospital internships and job shadowing rotations.

Students have also completed programs on blood borne pathogens and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Privacy Act) prior to entering hospital rotations.

The goal of the CareerSafe program is to teach younger workers how to stay safe in the workplace and begin to prepare these young men and women for a safe and prosperous future in their chosen career.

By providing entry-level workers, particularly high school and college students, with fundamental safety knowledge needed in the workplace, this program brings the significance of safety to the forefront.

Additionally, it seeks to challenge society to affirm the value of life by joining efforts to reduce the workplace injuries and fatalities suffered by this at risk working population