RNs Hail New State Rules for Safe Patient Lifting

The California Nurses Association today enthusiastically welcomed new state regulations by the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board to assure improved safety for patients, registered nurses, and other staff in lifting and other handling of hospitalized patients.

California Nurses Association
August 26, 2014

Registered Nurses Applaud Cal/OSHA's Adoption of Stronger Safe Patient Handling Regulations

The Cal/OSHA Standards Board voted Thursday to adopt new regulations on safe patient handling that are designed to protect registered nurses and other healthcare workers from patient handling injuries and to provide patients with safe and appropriate care. The board also granted a petition, submitted by the California Nurses Association, requesting that the Cal/OSHA Standards Board establish standards for violence prevention in healthcare workplaces.

California Nurses Association
June 20, 2014

Break fevers not backs

RNs Praise Signing of Landmark Lift Bill to Protect Patients, Nurses

The California Nurses Association/National Nurses United today praised the decision by California Gov. Jerry Brown to sign an important workplace safety bill to protect registered nurses and other healthcare employees from disabling injuries and safeguard patients from preventable falls.

Press Release
October 7, 2011

At VA Hospitals, Training And Technology Reduce Nurses' Injuries

As NPR has reported in our investigative series Injured Nurses, nursing employees suffer more debilitating back and other injuries than almost any other occupation — and they get those injuries mainly from doing the everyday tasks of lifting and moving patients.

Daniel Zwerdling, NPR
February 26, 2015

Hospital To Nurses: Your Injuries Are Not Our Problem

The case of Terry Cawthorn and Mission Hospital, in Asheville, N.C., gives a glimpse of how some hospital officials around the country have shrugged off an epidemic. Cawthorn was a nurse at Mission for more than 20 years. Her supervisor testified under oath that she was "one of my most reliable employees." Then, as with other nurses described this month in the NPR investigative series Injured Nurses, a back injury derailed Cawthorn's career. Nursing employees suffer more debilitating back and other body injuries than almost any other occupation, and most of those injuries are caused by lifting and moving patients.

Daniel Zwerdling, NPR
February 19, 2015

Emergency room sign

OSHA's New Severe Injury Reporting Requirement: One Year In

Last week, OSHA published a report on severe injuries reported in 2015. A new recordkeeping requirement went into effect January 1, 2015, requiring employers to report all work-related amputations and injuries requiring hospitalization to federal OSHA within 24 hours. This was in addition to the long-standing requirement to report all work-related fatalities to OSHA within 8 hours.

National Nurses United
March 23, 2016

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