Articles Tagged With: OSHA
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OSHA Updates Stance on COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements
OSHA is reopening the rulemaking record to allow for new data and comments on the Emergency Temporary Standard issued June 21, 2021, intended to protect workers in healthcare settings from occupational exposure to COVID-19. -
OSHA Inspecting Hospitals for Compliance with COVID-19 Issues
OSHA’s COVID-19 Focused Inspection Initiative in Healthcare is underway, with inspectors visiting hospitals and other healthcare facilities to determine compliance with requirements related to the pandemic. -
OSHA Finalizing COVID-19 Rule in Healthcare Settings
OSHA has briefly reopened comments and slated a public hearing for April 27 as it moves to finalize its Emergency Temporary Standard to protect healthcare workers from COVID-19. -
OSHA Announces COVID Inspections in Hospitals, SNFs
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has announced a temporary increase in “focused” inspections of hospitals and skilled nursing facilities that treat or handle COVID-19 patients.
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HCW Injuries, Illness Off the Charts in 2020
Healthcare workers in the United State experienced a more than twofold increase in injury and illness rates in 2020, the first year of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. -
Tips for Passing an OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Inspection
The Bloodborne Pathogens Standard has been on the books for decades. But exposure control plans — the principal component of compliance — should be viewed as a “living document” that changes over time, a needlestick prevention expert noted. -
Supreme Court Upholds Healthcare Vaccine Mandate
Hospitals still struggling to vaccinate all workers received good news on Jan. 13, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the federal government can enforce its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers. Justices threw out two lawsuits representing more than 20 states, ruling that mandating COVID-19 vaccination of healthcare workers is within the limits of federal law. -
TJC, OSHA Expect Hospitals to Address Violence
The Joint Commission recently updated its standards for preventing and addressing violence in the healthcare workplace. OSHA's General Duty Clause requires employers to provide their employees with a place of employment that is “free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.” -
Workplace Violence on the Rise; COVID-19 Partly to Blame
Always a challenging problem, workplace violence in healthcare settings has worsened recently as the many stresses of the pandemic push staff, managers, patients, and family members to the breaking point. Risk managers should review their workplace violence policies to ensure they clearly define workplace violence to include bullying, intimidation, and harassment. -
Worker Safety Is Critical to Patient Safety
As the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates the national nursing shortage, healthcare workers are finally seen as a valuable commodity that should not be routinely lost to injuries trying to manually lift and mobilize patients. Ultimately, understanding worker safety equals patient safety improves the well-being of an organization.