Health-care workers asked a State House committee Tuesday to support legislation that would require hospitals to take steps to keep them from being hurt on the job. The bill aims to prevent injuries sustained by lifting or moving patients.

Five months into her job as a registered nurse, Christina Saraf started having back pain. An MRI showed the regular strain of lifting patients had ruptured discs in her back.

“So I had to take time off of work," she said. "There were medical costs. I am back at work, but now I have to endure the long-term consequences of having a chronic condition."

Saraf’s injury isn’t unusual. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says more healthcare workers are injured in Massachusetts than in any other job. Legislation requiring hospitals to buy equipment and implement programs for safely handling patients has languished on Beacon Hill for more than a decade. State Senator Harriette Chandler is trying again.

“The lack of appropriate safe-patient-handling protocols is sidelining healthcare workers, increasing costs and putting patients in jeopardy," Chandler said.

The Massachusetts Hospital Association has consistently opposed such legislation. In a statement, it criticized the bill as a costly, one-size-fits-all approach, and said instead, the state Department of Public Health should issue guidelines and work with hospitals individually.

Source: http://wgbhnews.org/post/nurses-and-health-care-workers-lobby-beacon-hill-workplace-injuries-bill