Emphasis programs

Strategic plan - nursing homes: The performance goal for this initiative was to reduce the injury rate in county nursing homes and state veterans' homes by 10 percent over a five-year period. Data were collected from the Log of Work Related Injuries and Illnesses and the Annual Summary of Work Related Injuries and Illnesses. Since the initiative began, in 1998, the injury rate fell 36 percent. Data for 2008 is still being collected.

During the first phase of the strategic plan, the focus was on patient handling. The second phase focused on site visits to nursing homes with high injury rates; facilities were offered comprehensive safety and health consultations or comprehensive inspections. All facilities chose consultations, which began with a thorough review of injury and illness records and resident lifting and repositioning policies. Consultants also conducted an equipment needs assessment and made suggestions based on the assessments. Final reports to facility administrators included steps to improve recordkeeping, enhance risk assessments, and prepare a written safe patient handling program.

Strategic plan - emergency response: The Fire Protection/Ambulance Service Strategic Plan Committee continued its effort to build new partnerships and enhance existing ones with emergency responders. In 2008, the committee worked with the NYS Office of Homeland Security, the Fire Association State of NY (FASNY), the Association of Fire Districts, the NYS Department of Health, the State Emergency Management Office, NYC MASH Group, and county fire coordinators.

Committee members also:

• Worked with the New York State Office of Fire Prevention to develop a lesson plan that describes the requirements of New York's recently enacted Rope Rescue Law.
  


• Addressed concerns about Federal Highway Administration law on high-visibility garments that took effect in November 2008. The law requires high-visibility garments for workers and responders who work on federal highways. The emergency response community had questions about what their staff would be required to wear.
  


• Developed annual training for the DOSH Crisis Response Team and designed the severe winter storm exercise, which was a re-enactment of the October 2006 snow storm in western New York. The exercise was designed to test new response protocols and increase the number of DOSH responders who could assist the safety officer at an emergency operations center.

Public Employee Safety and Health Bureau (PESH) services were showcased at various emergency response conferences. In 2008, members attended the multinational Crossing Boarders Conference in Buffalo, the Long Island Fire Show, and the 2008 NYS Disaster Preparedness Conference in Syracuse. Committee members took advantage of these opportunities to distribute information highlighting the Consultation Program and the 2008 Fire Service CD.

Strategic plan - highway, street, and bridge construction: During the past five years, the plan analyzed injury and illness data from counties across the state and the five boroughs of New York City. The goal was to rank counties by injury rates and focus resources on those with the highest rates. Employers were offered a training program to address injuries identified on their injury and illness logs (SH 900). The effort was very successful and resulted in requests for PESH training at various highway departments.

During the second five-year phase, the strategic plan focused on building partnerships with highway departments with the goal of reducing injuries. The partnership with the Association of Counties was particularly valuable in promoting workplace safety initiatives for county governments. During the second phase, the planning committee developed a resource CD for highway departments and distributed it at seminars, conferences, and speaking engagements. The CD includes written safety and health programs, PowerPoint presentations, toolbox information, and respiratory protection and noise requirements.

Heat stress in NYC public school cafeterias: In response to concerns about working conditions in school cafeterias, teams consisting of two DOSH staffers and one union member visited 56 schools. The initial evaluation included employee interviews, an indoor air quality survey, a complete evaluation of the ventilation system, and an assessment of equipment that had an impact on the heat load. A report to the Governor summarized the results. During late summer and early fall 2008, the team returned to 34 schools. The average temperature readings during the sampling period ranged from 72 degrees to 98 degrees. A plan to address the problems, developed in partnership with NYC Board of Education, included fixing broken equipment, reassessing equipment locations, and installing air conditioning units.

Enforcement

In 2008, 1,901 PESH Bureau inspections resulted in 4,647 violations. Enforcement inspections by type included:

• Accident - 30
  


• Complaint - 352
  


• Referral - 33
  


• Monitoring - 123
  


• Follow-up - 632
  


• Program related - 731

Assessed penalties were $288,910, of which $93,869 was collected. PESH also investigated 33 allegations of discrimination in 2008, three more than in 2007.

Partnerships

Emergency preparedness: The "Saving Uncle Sam" exercise was hosted by the US Coast Guard.

Emergency preparedness: DOSH created a Crisis Response Team that supports the local and state emergency response community. In 2008, the DOSH Crisis Response Team participated in a number of emergency exercises. The New York State Emergency Management Office invited the team to play the role of "Safety Officer" during a weeklong multi-agency exercise called "Empire Express" in which a hurricane strikes New York City and Long Island. DOSH responders developed a health and safety plan and worked within the incident command structure to develop task-specific risk and PPE assessments.

DOSH responders also participated in the following exercises during fiscal year 2008:

• DOSH "Severe Snow Storm Reenactment"
  


• COOP, "Double Play"
  


• Ginna Nuclear Plant Exercise
  


• Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant Exercise
  


• Alexandria Bay U.S. Coast Guard, "Saving Uncle Sam"
  


• Western N.Y. Incident Management Assistance Team Exercise

After each exercise, lessons learned were evaluated, changes included in the Crisis Response Plan, operating procedures updated, and training conducted internally to ensure proficiency in DOSH's response.

Outreach

Safe patient handling: PESH and the On-Site Consultation Bureau joined with the New York State Zero Lift Task Force to provide safe patient handling training. This year there was a two-day conference devoted to implementing successful safe patient handling programs in acute care, long-term care, home care, and residential care facilities. Best practices and the financial benefits of implementing a safe patient handling program were presented. The conference also included a hands-on-demonstration of new technologies that minimize manual lifting.

OSHA 10-hour construction course: PESH and the On-Site Consultation Bureau also offer the OSHA 10-hour construction course. Sessions have been very successful and continue to be requested by government agencies and many private-sector employers. Thirty-seven sessions were held in fiscal year 2008 and 948 employees received 10-hour certification cards.

Pandemic flu: Responding to the heightened awareness of pandemic flu risk, DOSH developed a fact sheet covering pandemic flu facts and prepared pandemic flu booklets for health care workers, the public, and businesses. These were distributed throughout the year at conferences and other outreach activities.

Workplace violence: Since the Workplace Violence Prevention draft regulation [PDF - 203 KB] was posted in the New York State Register, DOSH has worked with groups and associations to provide them with workplace violence prevention presentations and an overview of the regulations. This continues to be an emphasis since the draft regulation will soon become final.

Accessibility Assistance: Contact the OSHA Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs at 202-693-2200 for assistance accessing PDF materials.