News And Events

OSHA's New Web Resource Aims To Improve Safety Of Patients And Hospital Workers

OSHA recently launched a new educational web resource, http://www.osha.gov/hospitals, which features 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….”

The website's materials on safe patient handling address the most common injuries hospital workers face, including: lifting and moving patients, workplace violence, slips and falls, exposure to chemicals and hazardous drugs, exposures to needles and infectious diseases. In 2012, US 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.

To read more, click here.

The OMS, Ltd. is a nationally recognized team of physicians and medical specialists who work closely with other occupational health and safety professionals. To find out more click here or call us at  (800) 359-1979.

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