Lawmakers Seek OSHA Standard on Workplace Violence Prevention in Healthcare

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and 12 other House Democrats have introduced legislation intended to curb workplace violence in health care facilities.

The Health Care Workplace Violence Prevention Act, introduced March 8, would mandate that the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) develop a national standard on workplace violence prevention that would require health care facilities to develop and implement facility and unit-specific workplace violence prevention plans.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, at least 58 hospital workers died as a result of workplace violence between 2011 and 2016. In 2016, the Government Accountability Office found that health care workers were five to 12 times more likely to encounter nonfatal workplace violence than all other workers.

The legislation follows regulation enacted in 2014 in California, which went into effect in 2017, directing Cal/OSHA to craft a workplace violence prevention standard. The law requires all covered health care employers in California to develop and issue – by April 1 – plans to prevent workplace violence and ensure the safety of patients and workers.

The bill introduced by Khanna is similar: Workplaces would create and implement comprehensive violence prevention plans with input from doctors, nurses and custodial workers. The bill stresses prevention, training and worker participation. It defines workplace violence broadly to include not only physical acts of violence, but threats of violence. It emphasizes staffing as a crucial ingredient in preventing violence from occurring and responding quickly when it does.

“Health care workers, doctors and nurses are continuously at risk of workplace violence incidents – strangling, punching, kicking and other physical attacks – that can cause severe injury or death,” Khanna said in a March 8 press release. “This is simply unacceptable. The Health Care Workplace Violence Prevention Act puts a comprehensive plan in place and is a national solution to this widespread problem modeled after the success seen in California.”

See the Cal/OSHA regulation for details of the standard and what might be expected in the adoption of a National OSHA regulation.

National Nurses United (NNU), the nation’s largest union of registered nurses, applauded the bill.

“Right now, health care facilities are not doing enough to prevent these violent incidents,” NNU Co-President Deborah Burger said in a press release. “Under the proposed federal standard, facilities would need to assess and correct for environmental risk factors, patient specific risk factors, staffing and security system sufficiency.”

“There are a number of interventions that can reduce violence in healthcare. For example, affixing furniture and lighting so they can’t be used as weapons, maintaining clear lines of sight between workers while they are caring for patients, and providing easy access to panic buttons or phones to call for help,” Burger explained. “It is imperative that nurses, doctors, and other health care workers, along with security staff and custodial personnel, are all involved in the development and implementation of these plans.”

Sources: https://www.hcsiinc.com, https://www.dir.ca.gov, , http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com, https://www.securitymagazine.com,
https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/workplace-violence-prevention-in-healthcare.html, https://oshareview.com

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

OSHA Slams Northridge Hospital for Health and Safety Violations

OSHA COMPLIANCE IS CRITICAL

State workplace safety regulators fined the operator of Northridge Hospital Medical Center about $44,125 for violations that potentially exposed the hospital’s 1,700 employees to non-compliance health hazards.

Dignity Health was cited after Cal/OSHA determined that the hospital failed to record information in over a dozen cases where hospital workers were stuck with needles, and failed to provide closeable containers in emergency rooms that would keep biohazard waste from spilling, according to the state agency.

Northridge Hospital said in a statement that it is working “diligently” to address the agency’s findings.

“We have a longstanding relationship with Cal/OSHA and appreciate the regulatory body working with us to ensure the safety of our employees,” according to the hospital.

Cal/OSHA’s Van Nuys office opened an investigation in June after receiving a complaint, resulting in 13 health code violations, regulators said.

“California’s health and safety requirements are some of the strongest in the nation, and they’re meant to prevent hospital workers from becoming hospital patients,” Cal/OSHA Chief Juliann Sum said.

The findings included violations of bloodborne pathogens precautions, which require employers to protect workers from coming into contact with blood or other disease-carrying body fluids, according to Cal/OSHA.

Cal/OSHA also issued general and regulatory violations because Dignity Health kept broken gurneys in the working area, skipped essential elements of training employees in safe patient handling, and failed to take corrective action after accidents occurred, regulators said.

In summary, there were four serious violations of the bloodborne pathogens standard, which requires employers to protect workers from coming into contact with blood or other disease-carrying body fluids. A serious violation is cited when there is a realistic possibility that death or serious harm could result from the actual hazardous condition. In this case, the serious violations included:

• Failure to gather information required by the Sharps injury log, such as type and brand of needles involved in the 18 injury cases. The employer had no procedure in place to review the log, or to solicit required input from employees about factors contributing to contaminated needle injuries. Well-kept injury logs, and their regular review, help to identify the causes of injuries and prevent future occurrences.

• Failure to provide containers that would prevent spillage or protrusion of contaminated needles in emergency treatment and trauma rooms. Additionally, the employer did not provide readily accessible hand washing facilities for emergency room employees.

• Failure to provide appropriate sizes of gloves for employees using the medication cart in the trauma room and the after-hours intake area.
Cal/OSHA also issued eight general and regulatory violations because Dignity Health kept broken gurneys in the working area, skipped essential elements of training employees in safe patient handling, and failed to take corrective action after accidents occurred.

Sources: Northridge-Chatsworth Patch, stateofreform.com

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