Rhode Island recently joined the ranks of states legislating safe patient handling.

The state’s legislature passed “The Safe Patient Handling Act of 2006” to reduce the number of patient and caregiver injuries caused by manual lifting and repositioning. The law implements regulations “to prohibit these outdated and dangerous methods of transporting patients in health care facilities,” state Rep. Grace Diaz (D) said.

Other states that have implemented some sort of patient handling law include Washington, Texas, New Jersey, California and Massachusetts.