Union estimates that health care workers lift about 1.8 tons during an average shift

BOSTON (WWLP) – A union representing nurses says that employees are getting hurt on the job, and they want Massachusetts hospitals to do something about it.

Massachusetts Nurses Association estimates health care workers lift about 1.8 tons during an average shift. The union claims that nurses are developing serious injuries over time, causing many RN’s to miss as many as 60 days of work each year.

Health care workers are frustrated, because they believe these injuries can be prevented. They are pressuring state lawmakers to pass a bill requiring certain health facilities buy equipment that does all the heavy lifting. Nurse Beth Piknick told 22News that she injured her back while transferring patients from room to room.

“I was out of work for two and a half years. I went through conservative treatment, worker’s compensation, many, many doctors, and many tests. I ended up having surgery,” Piknick said.

Massachusetts Hospital Association.

“Massachusetts hospitals recognize and support appropriate protections to ensure the health and safety of healthcare workers, and many organizations have already established programs and policies to promote safe patient handling (SPH), organizational needs assessments, training and injury surveillance programs, to name a few. The hospital community is also actively working with occupational injury prevention experts to identify SPH approaches that best meet the needs of healthcare professionals and patients.

These site-specific safe patient handling efforts are more responsive and appropriate than the one size-fits-all approach outlined in SB1124/HB1914. If enacted, this legislation would require all licensed facilities – hospitals, nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities, and assisted living facilities – to purchase new, costly equipment and expend additional significant resources, potentially even requiring building re-design, service re-location or service closures in order to ensure compliance.

Such a blanket mandate poses conflicts with existing standards and limits the ability of organizations to be appropriately responsive to evolving patient populations and the realities of existing structures.

As the licensing authority for hospitals, MHA believes the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) is best positioned to issue guidance and work with facilities on developing and implementing best practices on SPH protocols. By centering oversight of these activities at the agency level, DPH can best ensure that any requirements are precisely tailored to the unique needs of each facility.”

–Michael Sroczynski, Vice President, Government Advocacy, Massachusetts Hospital Association

 

Source: http://wwlp.com/2015/12/08/nurses-want-law-to-prevent-on-the-job-injuries/