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News Release USDL: 96-326
Thursday, August 8, 1996
Contact: Meg Ingold (202) 219-6091
Stephen Gaskill, OSHA (202) 219-6091

Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich today unveiled a seven-state initiative to protect workers in more than 5,000 nursing home and personal care facilities, one of the nation's fastest growing industries.

"Nationwide there are 1.6 million nursing home workers in more than 21,000 facilities. Our initiative emphasizes helping employers reduce injuries and illnesses through effective safety and health programs. The outreach effort will focus on common hazards found in nursing homes," said Reich.

According to 1994 Bureau of Labor Statistics data, nursing home workers face the third highest rate of occupational injuries and illnesses among all U.S. industries with 100,000 or more nonfatal injury or illness cases--some 221,000 cases in that year alone. Only meat products processing and motor vehicle/equipment manufacturing industries rank higher.

More than half the nursing home injuries and illnesses are related to handling residents, and 42 percent are back injuries. Back injuries average more than $8,400 each in workers' compensation expenses alone.

In September, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will begin offering free, comprehensive safety and health seminars, specifically designed for nursing home employers, in seven states--Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Assisting the agency in the outreach effort are the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA).

Reich noted the special challenges inherent in developing a safety and health program for nursing homes. "Nursing facilities are residents' homes. We must be mindful of safety and health needs for workers while allowing for a respectful, stable home environment for those who live there," said Reich.

Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Joseph A. Dear described cases where nursing home employers have implemented safety and health measures and achieved dramatic results. "In one case, an employer's workers' compensation costs dropped from $750,000 a year to $184,000, after he implemented a program to handle residents safely," said Dear. "The key to reducing injuries and illnesses is an effective safety and health program. Solutions to problems need not be expensive. Many hazards can be eliminated through simple, common-sense measures or low-cost equipment."

OSHA's seminars will address potential nursing home hazards including back injuries from incorrect and/or strenuous lifting of residents; slips and falls; workplace violence; and risks from bloodborne pathogens, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases.

OSHA has established nursing home coordinators in each regional office to provide information on the initiative including outreach materials and seminar details. To contact the nursing home coordinator for Conn., Mass., Maine, N.H., R.I., Vt., call (617) 565-9860; for N.J., N.Y., Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, call (212) 337-2378; for D.C., Del., Md., Pa., Va., W.Va., call (215) 596-1201; for Ala., Fla., Ga., Ky., Miss., N.C., S.C., Tenn., call (954) 424-0242; for Ill., Ind., Mich., Minn., Ohio, Wis., call (312) 353-2220; for Ark., La., N.M., Okla., Tex., call (214) 320-2400; for Iowa, Kan. Mo., Neb., call (816) 426-5861; for Colo., Mont., N.D., S.D., Utah, Wyo., call (303) 391-5858; for American Samoa, Ariz., Calif., Guam, Hawaii, Nev., Trust Territories of the Pacific, call (808) 541-2685; for Alaska, Idaho, Ore., Wash., call (206) 553-5930. Overall coordinator for the program is Keith Motley of OSHA's Health Response Team (801) 487-0521.