On National Caregivers Day, February 18th, 2022, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) urged health care facilities to implement effective health and safety programs in the workplace. Evidently, the reminder comes after a massive increase in injury and illness rates in 2020 within the health care industry. In fact, according to the agency, health care and social assistance workers combined had more reported injuries and illnesses than any other industry in the nation. Specifically, the reports are associated with pressing safety and health hazards workers encountered in the workplace during the pandemic. Earlier, in January, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released separate guidance for three groups of states regarding the health care worker vaccine mandate.
Health Care Industry Injuries and Illnesses
In 2020, U.S. health care workers experienced a 249 percent increase in injury and illness rates. Markedly, these reported injury and illnesses cases resulted in missed workdays. Such cases involved those workers caring directly for patients during multiple surges of the COVID-19 pandemic. In detail, between 2019 and 2020 the largest differences were among:
- Registered nurses who experienced a 290.8% increase in cases, up by 58,590 since 2019, and
- Nursing assistants, with a 249.7% increase in cases for a total of 96,480.
While the number of injury and illnesses cases in 2020 decreased or remained the same across private industry sectors in general, cases within the health care and social assistance industries increased by 40.1%. With this in mind, OSHA used National Caregivers Day to encourage health care employers to implement health and safety programs for their workers.
Push for Health and Safety Programs
Notably, OSHA issued a final vaccine standard for health care workers. Meanwhile, the agency reminds employers of their various legal obligations. For example, employers must comply with OSHA’s General Duty Clause, as well as personal protective equipment and respiratory protection standards. Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Douglas Parker remarked that, “The dangers healthcare workers face continue to be of the highest concern and measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are still needed to protect them.”
In order to help prevent workplace injury and illness, employers need to have a proactive health and safety program. According to OSHA, such a workplace program should:
- Address potential safety hazards,
- Train employees on workplace safety, and
- Include preventive measures to guard against worker illness and injury.
More Information
Many employers may wish to schedule facility safety and health evaluations or discuss the details of health and safety programs. Those interested may contact their local OSHA On-Site Consultation program. Through the program, consultants help employers identify hazards, discuss compliance efforts, and help create safety programs.