MEMIC’s Stowell Receives Rising Tide Award for Patient Safety

Portland, ME (WorkersCompensation.com) - For more than 30 years MEMIC’s Beth Stowell, a senior loss control consultant to the health care industry, has worked to improve safety for patients and their caregivers. On Monday Stowell was recognized for her leadership, dedication and innovation with the Rising Tide Award at the 9th Annual Patient Safety Academy put on by the Muskie School for Public Service at the University of Southern Maine.

Stowell has been the driving force behind the Safe Patient Handling movement in the state of Maine in the 1990s. She was one of the first Nurse Safety Management Consultants hired in 1993 by MEMIC, the state’s newly created workers’ compensation insurer with a mission to reduce injuries and lower insurance costs. Their efforts saw much success as workplace injuries in Maine have been reduced by about 40 percent while the cost of insurance has decreased by 60 percent.

“Beth has improved the lives and workplaces of countless people,” said MEMIC President and CEO Michael P. Bourque. “She successfully championed a patient handling paradigm that provided a safer environment for both patients and caregivers.”

Jane Greenblatt of Home Hope & Healing, which received a safety award from MEMIC this year, praised Stowell for her training and guidance. Stowell also helped them get grants for new equipment so that children with medically complex conditions that require them to be lifted and assisted can be safer in their homes and have a better quality of life.

Stowell worked to create the Maine chapter of the Association of Occupational Health Professionals. She has been a member and served on the board of the association for 9 years and was its president for 4 years. She was appointed to the Maine Governor's Commission on Safety and Health in the Workplace in 1987 and chaired for 7 of her 14 years. Her impact expands far beyond Maine. She is recognized nationwide for the safety programs she has developed and has shared in national conferences and publications.

An advocate for lifelong learning, Stowell is a Certified Occupational Health Nurse Specialist (COHN-S), a Certified Healthcare Safety Professional (CHSP) and a Certified Hazard Control Manager (CHCM). She earned a master's degree in Public Health from the University of North Carolina and a bachelor of science in Nursing from the University of Vermont.

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