AAOHN AND OSHA SIGN NEW ALLIANCE
TO PROMOTE HEALTHY AND SAFE WORKPLACES
AAOHN Comments on OSHA’s New Draft Ergonomics Guidelines for Nursing Home Industry
ATLANTA (May 7, 2003)– The American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN) submitted comments this week to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) about the agency’s proposed ergonomics guidelines for the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in nursing homes. AAOHN’s comments reflect the association’s stance that guidelines, in the absence of an enforceable rule, are a step in the right direction.
"OSHA’s draft nursing home guidelines are a common sense approach for an industry where workers suffer twice the number of ergonomics injuries than in other workplaces," said AAOHN President Deborah V. DiBenedetto. "We are pleased that the guidelines address this critical problem and provide specific information geared toward helping the industry reduce the incidence of ergonomic injuries. The challenge will be for nursing homes to ensure employees receive the appropriate training to apply this information and carry out work tasks safely."
Some of the suggestions that AAOHN included in its comments were to:
Add an executive summary and simplify content;
Tailor the guidelines to multisized facilities, to address resource issues and challenges common to smaller nursing homes;
Include more information about how to implement an ergonomics program, by providing a sample of a formal, written plan;
Provide additional detail on how to garner management commitment; and
Elaborate on the training section to include more information about a regular training schedule, as well as how to train all nursing home staff — not just those who will be developing the program — about ergonomics procedures.
The complete comments can be found at www.aaohn.org. OSHA’s draft guidelines can be downloaded from the OSHA Web site via www.osha.gov/ergonomics/guidelines/nursinghome/index.html.
In its 60th year, AAOHN is a 10,000 member professional association dedicated to advancing the health, safety and productivity of domestic and global workforces by providing education, research, public policy and practice resources for occupational and environmental health nurses. These nurses are the largest group of health care providers serving the worksite.
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