{"id":13294,"date":"2026-05-14T15:25:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T15:25:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/?p=13294"},"modified":"2026-05-14T15:25:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T15:25:19","slug":"a-culture-of-safety-patient-transport-success-at-novant-health-rowan-medical-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/?p=13294","title":{"rendered":"A Culture of Safety: Patient Transport Success at Novant Health Rowan Medical Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Patient Transport team at Novant Health Rowan Medical Center is a strong example of Crothall\u2019s commitment to workplace safety in action.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Crothall\u00a0Healthcare\u2019s Patient Transport team,\u00a0located\u00a0in Salisbury, N.C., makes over 68,000 trips a year and has achieved impressive safety milestones: no major injuries since January 2017 and no \u2018Red Rule\u2019 violations for more than eight years.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo be injury-free for nine years, and \u2018Red Rule\u2019 free for\u00a0nearly as\u00a0long, the team needs to be laser-focused on their mission and highly engaged,\u201d says Regional Vice President Sam Olsen.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Experience Counts<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

A key factor in these successes is Patient Transport Director Brittney Livengood, who began as a transporter at Rowan in 2009 and worked her way to Director in 2018, gaining firsthand patient care experience along the way.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Brittney progressed to Patient Flow Coordinator, entered the Manager-in-Training program, and became Director in 2018.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBrittney has walked well more than a mile in the shoes of her frontline team members, and this has given her the critical insight she needs to best lead them,\u201d Olsen says. \u201cThis experience has given her the ability to communicate flawlessly both to her leadership team and to her frontline, ensuring that everyone is in sync with department and hospital goals and initiatives.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Importance of Quality\u00a0Training\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Livengood credits her training team and associates\u2019 vigilance for their safety record and hazard avoidance.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because transporters move patients\u00a0frequently, initial training emphasizes preventing back injuries. \u201cWe focus on body mechanics and safe transfers to avoid strains and injury,\u201d Livengood says.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They receive two weeks of hands-on training from Velma Johnson, the 16-year team lead. Each associate must master safety measures,\u00a0from correctly\u00a0using PPE to transporting patients with special needs.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On the job, Brittney\u00a0accompanies\u00a0each transporter monthly to ensure they use proper lifting and transfer techniques.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She also reminds staff to wear PPE correctly with isolation patients, who can easily\u00a0transmit\u00a0illness through droplets or skin contact.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Livengood says transporters rely on teamwork to prevent injuries. For example, if a battery-powered bed loses power, making it hard to push, transporters call for help instead of moving it alone.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Olsen says training at Novant\u00a0Health\u00a0Rowan\u00a0Medical Center\u00a0matches other accounts, but Brittney\u2019s attention to safety helps reinforce the strong safety culture built into\u00a0Crothall\u2019s\u00a0patient transport operations.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBrittney deserves a ton of credit for this accomplishment, but it takes the entire village to ensure it is practiced with each and every transport. Every Patient Transport team member at Novant Health Rowan Medical Center has played a vital role in achieving this incredible accomplishment and deserves to be recognized.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2013 Regional Vice President Sam Olsen<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

The Oxygen Olympics<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

The Patient Transport team also joins Novant\u00a0Health\u2019s annual Oxygen Olympics, a 10-day safety contest focused on proper handoff and oxygen tank handling.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Transporters earn points in the competition by using the oxygen handoff tool properly and answering daily trivia.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the most recent contest, all\u00a0top\u00a0three Rowan\u00a0Medical Center\u00a0winners were Patient Transport: Velma Johnson (first), Maurice Harrison (second), and Tyler Solomon (third).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The competition often pays off in a transporter\u2019s daily tasks. Recently, Devon Stewart\u2019s oxygen\u00a0know-how\u00a0helped a patient.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before transferring a patient from the Emergency Department, DeVon heard an oxygen tank alarm. He alerted a nurse, who quickly replaced the\u00a0tank\u00a0so the patient stayed oxygenated.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Culture of Safety<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Novant\u00a0Health\u00a0Rowan\u00a0Medical Center\u00a0leadership recognizes the team\u2019s impact. In 2024, Livengood won the Atlas award for Professional & Support Services, nominated by other department leaders.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBrittney is seen as a hospital leader by everyone,\u201d says Olsen. \u201cShe and her team prove patients benefit when we set high standards.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Brittney and her team show what\u2019s possible when\u00a0strong training, accountability, and a shared commitment to safety come together. Values that define\u00a0Crothall\u00a0teams across the country.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The post A Culture of Safety: Patient Transport Success at Novant Health Rowan Medical Center<\/a> appeared first on Crothall Healthcare<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Patient Transport team at Novant Health Rowan Medical Center is a strong example of Crothall\u2019s commitment to workplace safety in action.\u00a0 Crothall\u00a0Healthcare\u2019s Patient Transport team,\u00a0located\u00a0in Salisbury, N.C., makes over 68,000 trips a year and has achieved impressive safety milestones: no major injuries since January 2017 and no \u2018Red Rule\u2019 violations for more than eight…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":13295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-medicine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13294"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13294\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}