DeKALB – As the average hospital patient’s waistline has grown, so too have the number of injuries among health care workers across the country.

But at Kishwaukee Community Hospital, a May 2011 partnership with Diligent – an arm of Addison-based ArjoHuntleigh – has helped reverse that trend, reducing employee injuries by 95 percent over the past three years.

In addition to the increasing weight of the patient population, another factor is the average age of nurses, said Shelly Johnson, the hospital’s director of employee health.