“The cost of having uncomfortable and unproductive workers happens to be so high that the equipment is a drop in a bucket, relative to what the hospital or the health care facility is paying on a daily basis,” says Humanscale’s Puleio. “They may not have excellent methods to measure this lost productive time, but there are volumes of research out there stating the cost of these issues.”

AFC Industries’ Rotlevi says facilities that fail to provide their employees with proper ergonomic work areas are at risk of workers’ compensation lawsuits. Avoidable ailments, like carpel tunnel syndrome, can lead to expensive legal battles to fight in court.

“The better question is, ‘Can facilities afford not to invest in ergonomics?’” asks Rotlevi.

Duke’s James came to the health system 17 years ago to work on a few ergonomic projects as a consultant. Today, she works with four full-time ergonomists for a health system that has more than 35,000 employees. She says she knows of other ergonomists who have gone on to start projects at other hospitals.

Cornell’s Hedge suggests that hospitals consider investing in ergonomic design right at the beginning of a new project or remodeling endeavor.

“Ergonomics is only a cost if you already bought the wrong things,” he says.

Later this month, professionals from a variety of industries will converge in Las Vegas, Nev., for the largest ergonomics event in America – the National Ergonomics Conference and Exposition (ErgoExpo). This year, the ErgoExpo will feature a number of educational opportunities that focus on using ergonomics to increase safety, productivity and profitability in the workplace.

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