OSHA
The Occupational Safety & Healthcare Administration (OSHA), under the U.S. Department of Labor, has authority to go into workplaces, inspect worksite conditions, cite employers found in violation of agency standards, and levy fines. Under the General Duty Clause, OSHA may cite for "obvious and serious workplace hazards." Specific OSHA standards of concern to healthcare organizations include: personal protective equipment, blood borne pathogens, hazard communication, ergonomics, confined space, lockout/tag out, asbestos, electrical and others.
Road Map to Healthcare OSHA Compliance – ASHE
Technical Document (ASHE Members Only)
The Road Map to Healthcare OSHA Compliance was developed by South Carolina Health Alliance for individuals in healthcare facilities who are designated a "safety manager" along with their normal duties. Organizations must understand that they are required to comply with the OSHA standards as depicted in the Code of Federal Standards. The Road Map helps to simplify the standards in order to provide a safe workplace for the staff. It is not intended to take the place of the standards, only to make them easier to understand.
Hospital eTool
To find out about healthcare specific hazards, OSHA has developed a computerized graphical eTool to help employers identify and address potential occupational hazards in hospitals. Using a graphical intuitive approach, Hospital eTool presents each potential hazard by the departments or services where it they could occur. For instance, clicking on Laundry opens a module which identifies potential risks (such as contaminated laundry, sharps handling, heat stress, and so on) and possible solutions. Although specific OSHA regulations are cited it does not read like stereo hookup instructions. Richly populated with photos and QuickTime video clips, Hospital eTool is an excellent resource for assessing your healthcare worker safety program. To get to Hospital eTool click on: www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/hospital/index.html.
OSHA Best Practices for Hospital-based First Receivers (from mass casulty incidents)
In this document, OSHA provides practical information to help hospitals address employee protection and training as part of emergency planning for mass casualty incidents involving hazardous substances. Healthcare workers risk occupational exposures to chemical, biological, or radiological materials when a hospital receives contaminated patients, particularly during mass casualty incidents. These hospital employees, who may be termed first receivers, work at a site remote from the location where the hazardous substance release occurred. This means that their exposures are limited to the substances transported to the hospital on victims’ skin, hair, clothing, or personal effects. The location and limited source of contaminant distinguishes first receivers from other first responders (e.g., firefighters, law enforcement, and ambulance service personnel), who typically respond to the incident site.
OSHA recognizes that first receivers have somewhat different training and personal protective equipment (PPE) needs than workers in the hazardous substance Release Zone. During mass casualty emergencies, hospitals can anticipate little or no warning before victims begin arriving. Additionally, first receivers should anticipate that information regarding the hazardous agent(s) would not be available immediately. Hospitals also must plan for a large number of self-referred victims and assume victims will not have been decontaminated prior to arriving at the hospital.
This document may be accessed at www.osha.gov/dts/osta/bestpractices/firstreceivers_hospital.pdf.