Top Notch Nursing Homes Care For Residents And Staff Alike (NAPSA)—Good nursing homes are places where trained staff takes care of residents with respect and attention. Good nursing homes also take care of their employees by providing a safe and healthful workplace that in turn enables workers to provide the type of care and service that the residents deserve. But too many workers in nursing homes are getting hurt while doing their jobs. Job injury and illness rates in U.S. nursing homes are about two and a half times those of other workers. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) wants to help nursing home operators reduce injuries and illnesses among workers in their facilities. A CASE STUDYIN CARE There are many ways a nurs- ing home can protect the health and safety of workers and save money too. At a facility in Wyandotte County, Ohio, staff members were sustaining injuries to their lower backs and shoulders, as well as other injuries, when transferring residents from bed to wheelchair, wheelchair to commode, and wheelchair to bed. The administrator of the nursing home decided to do something about it. He installed ceiling lifts and electric bedsto assist staff in transporting residents and required his workers to use the equipment for all resident transfers. After the nurs- aes Onein 20 people over 65 lives in a nursing home. But each nursing home is also a workplace, with employees who expect and deserve a safe and healthful environment. ing home madethe change, workplace back and musculoskeletal injuries went to nearly zero, and the facility’s worker compensation rates went from $140,000 per year to $4,000 per year. Other nursing homes throughout the country are establishing similar policies to protect their workers, reducing injuries, and saving money as a result. For more information on preventing injuries and illnesses in the workplace, visit www.osha.gov.
