by Shane Henson — January 24, 2014—The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced the launch of a new educational Web resource earlier this week that has extensive materials to help hospitals prevent worker injuries, assess workplace safety needs, enhance safe patient handling programs, and implement safety and health management systems. The materials include fact books, self-assessments and best practice guides.
“These new materials can help prevent hospital worker injuries and improve patient safety, while reducing costs,” said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. “At the heart of these materials are the lessons from high-performing hospitals that have implemented best practices to reduce workplace injuries while also improving patient safety.”
The Web site’s materials on safe patient handling are designed to address the most common type of injuries hospital workers and patients face, and hospitals can use these resources to protect their workers, improve patient safety and reduce costs.
Facilities managers, in particular, can find an abundance of information that could help them choose equipment and procedures to help prevent injuries resulting from lifting and moving patients, workplace violence, slips and falls, and exposure to chemicals and hazardous drugs.
According to OSHA, in 2012, U.S. hospitals recorded 250,000 work-related injuries and illnesses, almost 60,000 of which caused employees to miss work. Nationwide, workers’ compensation losses result in a total annual expense of $2 billion for hospitals.
