Nursing assistant is one of the more dangerous professions, but a government safety agency hopes to change that.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration this week launched its Site-Specific Targeting Program. Using data submitted in 2016, it will pinpoint high-injury rate establishments, such as skilled nursing facilities, for inspection, it announced Wednesday.
Injury rates among nursing assistants are similar to those for construction workers, police and firefighters, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Lifting and moving residents, along with the nonstop pace in healthcare, have caused thousands of CNAs to suffer injuries from overexertion and falls in Ohio, one analysis found.
Injuries to the back, shoulders, legs, knees and feet have led to more than 35,000 call-offs in the U.S. each year, according to the BLS..
With its new program, OSHA says it will perform inspections of employers that it believes should have, but did not, submit injury data for 2016. The 2017 data was due in July, but the agency says that employers can still submit information for its database.
Nursing facilities are on the agency’s list of establishments classified as having a historically high rate of occupational injuries and illness, which includes everything from amusement parks to vending machine operators. Employers must submit data each year by March 2, going forward.For more on how to make nursing homes safer for staffers, OSHA has an on-site consultation program that offers workplaces of up to 250 employees free safety and health advice to help comply with standards. McKnight’s July “How to Do It” feature, also provides expert advice on mitigating workplace injuries.
