HRM Exam
Safety, Health, and Security in Healthcare Organizations
Week 6 Session 2
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“To assure safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve human resources”
OSHA – enforcement agency
Web: www.osha.gov
Basic Provisions:
General duty
Notification and posters
Right to refuse
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Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)
Under OSHA, Employers must:
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Under OSHA, employee rights:
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Overall rate = 3.0%
Construction = 3.2%
Manufacturing = 3.3%
Healthcare overall= 3.9%
More specifically
Hospitals = 5.5%
Nursing homes = 6.2%
http://www.bls.gov
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Injury & Illness Incident Rates
Click to edit Master text styles
Second level
Third level
Fourth level
Fifth level
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OSHA Enforcement Standards
Personal Protective
Equipment (PPE)
Equipment, clothing & training required
for hazards or hazardous materials
Hazard
Communication
*Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)
*Lock-out / tag-out regulations
Blood-Borne
Pathogens
Regulation designed to protect employees
who are regularly exposed to blood
Record Keeping
Requires annual records for recording injuries, accidents, and fatalities
OSHA form 300
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OSHA helps employers as well
Needle sticks
FDA, NIOSH & OSHA JOINT SAFETY COMMUNICATION:
Blunt-Tip Surgical Suture Needles Reduce Needlestick Injuries and the Risk of Subsequent Bloodborne Pathogen Transmission to Surgical Personnel
http:// www.fda.gov/downloads/MedicalDevices/Safety/AlertsandNotices/UCM306035.pdf
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On-the-spot Inspections
Warrant required?
Citations and Violations
Willful
Serious
Other Than Serious
Repeated
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OSHA Inspections
OSHA issues notices to West Haven, Connecticut VA Medical Center for exposing workers to new and recurring hazards
Employer name: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Connecticut Health Care System, 950 Campbell Ave., West Haven, CT 06516
Dec. 1, 2015, OSHA issued notices to the medical center identifying 12 repeat, seven serious and three other-than-serious safety and health violations.
Investigation findings: OSHA conducted an inspection to workplaces that report high numbers of lost time work cases.
The cited repeat violations include blocked or obstructed emergency exit routes; locked and unmarked emergency exits; lack of guardrails around open pits; absent or inadequate procedures, equipment, training and inspections to prevent the unintended activation of machinery during servicing or maintenance; inadequately protected bench grinders; and several electrical hazards.
The serious violations involve floors not maintained in dry and clean condition; unlabeled containers of potentially hazardous chemicals; damaged electrical cords; and failing to de-energize electrical circuits before working on them.
The repeat violations stem from similar violations cited between 2011 and 2015 at the West Haven medical center and at DVA facilities in Palo Alto, California, Bedford, Massachusetts, and Albany, New York.
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Approaches to Effective Safety Management
Workplace violence aggressors?
Criminals
Current & Former employees
Domestic Causes
Patients & their families
A safer room for a possibly violent patient:
Has furniture arranged to prevent entrapment of staff, furniture should be minimal, lightweight, without sharp corners, and/or affixed to the floor.
Is free from clutter, nothing available on countertops to throw at workers or use as weapons.
Is provided with a secondary door for escape in case main door is blocked by patient.
Is one entered with a buddy, do not be alone with patient
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Security – Workplace Violence
Workplace violence cont.
Management of Workplace Violence
Conduct a risk assessment for prevention efforts
Establish a violence response team
Post-violence response for affected employees
Training on Workplace Violence
how to recognize the signs of a potentially violent employee & how to respond to violence
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Security Audit
A comprehensive review of
organizational security
Survey the area around the facility
parking lot, lighting, traffic flow, location of emergency response services, etc.
Assess Access Control
accessibility of the facilities (locks,
electronic access or keycard systems)
Assess Computer Security
prevention of unauthorized access to computer systems (i.e. HRIS)
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Security Management
Employee Screening and Selection
Firms may be held liable for crimes committed by employees in the case of inadequate screening
Security Personnel
Importance of having sufficient security personnel
Many employers contract this service with firms specializing in security
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Other Security Factors
• Follow all relevant OSHA safety and health standards.
• Find and correct safety and health hazards.
• Inform employees about chemical hazards through training, labels, alarms, color -coded
systems, chemical information sheets and other methods.
• Notify OSHA within 8 hours of a workplace fatality or when three or more workers are
hospitalized.
• Provide required personal protective equipment at no cost to workers.*
• Keep accurate records of work -related injuries and illnesses.
• Post OSHA citations, injury and illness summary data, and the OSHA “Job Safety and
Health - It’s The Law” poster in the workplace where workers will see them.
• Not discriminate or retaliate against any worker for using their rights under the law.
Working conditions that do not pose a risk of serious harm.
Receive information and training about chemical and other hazards, methods to
prevent harm, and OSHA standards that apply to their workplace.
Review records of work-related injuries and illnesses.
Get copies of test results done to find and measure hazards in the workplace.
File a complaint asking OSHA to inspect their workplace if they believe there is a
serious hazard or that their employer is not following OSHA rules.
Use their rights under the l aw without retaliation or discrimination.