OSHA is in alliance with the Joint Commission Regulating Board. Joint commission oversees the regulations to insure OSHA guidelines for safety in the workplace is followed. OSHA safety toolbox talks gives us relevant information and training about the general guidelines for safety in healthcare services like blood borne pathogens, safety from slip trips and falls, to personal protective equipment. OSHA requires a healthcare facility to report injuries and illness workers have to them every year. Joint commission is the regulating body that overseas the safety of the visitor, patients, and workers within the safety guidelines of OSHA.
OSHA Safety
OSHA makes the rules for companies to follow to keep their workers and visitors as safe as possible. There are many businesses that follow OSHA rules. I am only going to talk about the basic rules as there is too many to list here. I am only going to address hospitals here too. So Let’s get into it.
1. Fall protection and prevention is a guideline that you have all seen starting a new job. Look, they do not want you to get injured on the job as it is a costly event for the company. You fall, you have to miss time from work, the employer has find coverage for you and not mention pay your salary and worker compensation. There is roughly 20% of injuries that occur from slip, trips, and falls from the same level. Most hospitals or clinics have tile floors which are quite slippery. Mopping these floors increase the risk of slips, trips, or falls. It is up to us to be aware of the potential hazards and prevent them from occurring by utilizing caution wet floor signs or clean up spills immediately. We need to wear non-slip shoes. Report loose flooring like rugs or mats. Use handrails that are available in stairways, Pay attention to floor transitions like carpet to tile or steps. These are just a few rules to keep us safe from injury.
2. Bio-hazards and infectious disease prevention is what all of us healthcare employees seem most concerned about when we start a new job. What is the number one rule? That’s right! Wash your hands! All of us can probably site the steps in our sleep. So here it goes…. Wet your hands. Lather with soap. Scrub your hands for 20 seconds. Rinse under clean water. Dry your hands thoroughly or let them air dry. Bacteria and viruses spread mostly through hand contact. Washing your hands is the single most important prevention from spreading disease.
3. Fire protection and prevention is a critical component of OSHA rules. I mean we have our lives, patient lives, and visitors to protect. Knowing your portable fire extinguishers is a must. Most hospitals have the ABC portable extinguisher. As healthcare providers we are required to know where all of our extinguishers and alarm pulls are in our department. It could be the difference of life or death for you and/or your patient.
Class A – Combustible material like paper, wood, dried vegetation, cardboard
Class B – Flammable and combustible liquids such as gasoline, diesel, oil, oil based paints and solvents
Class C- Involves appliances, tools, and other electrical energized product.
Class D – Combustible metals such as magnesium or sodium.
Class K – involve oils, grease, and gases used for cooking in kitchen.
4. Personal Protective Equipment or as we call PPE is the number one tool we use in healthcare. Personally, I thought this was a Joint Commission Regulation not an OSHA rule. Any who, we all have used these on a daily basis. Protection to our eyes, hands, and face is so important. You never really know what a patient has when you start serving their healthcare needs. Pay attention to your patient reports and do your due diligence to protect yourself and all that is around you include the patient.
A. Eye safety glasses/ goggles – To protect you from droplet airborne and flying particles.
You all know you have had that spitting patient? Or one that coughs in your face?
B. Gloves – To protect your hands from blood and chemicals. Protection of cuts and scrapes in the work place.
OK so how many of you did yard work on Sunday and showed up to work on Monday with cuts and scrapes on your hands? Get is covered! Wear those nitrile gloves too. Latex allergy is a real thing.
C. Face shields- For blood splatter or spray.
Who is in ER Trauma? You know this gets REAL super fast.
5. Oxygen is a compressed gas in cylinders that can rupture under high heat conditions and it will add fuel to a fire if it busts. They must be stored up right with protection so they won’t fall like in an upright metal rack. The valves must be closed when it is not in use with a valve protection cap on them.
I can’t tell you how many times I have searched for the O2 tanks to take a patient to my Radiology/CT department. I was not aware of why the regulations were in place like they were. Oxygen was definitely combustible, but I didn’t know all the other information that they needed to be stored upright with valve covers. We handle them with so much ease, we forget about the regulations behind the things we use every day.
Joint Commision Alliance
The goal of OSHA’s alliance with Joint Commission is to make all healthcare workers aware of the rules and regulations new and old to increase workplace safety. It informs the workers about occupational safety as well as health laws and standards that are enforced. Communication about the rules in our everyday healthcare environment will help us to keep our patients and visitors safe. At the end of the day, we may be a patient too.
What are the top recommendations?
PPE is a top recommendation that hospital across the country have to follow the rules for. Classes every year support this recommendation and joint commission inspects and accredits facilities doing it correctly. Fit test for n95 masks are mandatory and are documented within the facility so when join commission comes to do their walk through this information is available for them to review. There is too many to list here. However, you can visit OSHA Tool Box Talks and get all the learning material you want. If you can’t find it there, go to JCR site.
Who is responsible with overseeing?
Hospital administration is required to stay abreast of all mandatory rules and regulations with OSHA and joint commission, OSHA is the safety rule maker and Joint Commission is the hospital accrediting body that evaluates proper procedure and safety standards.
Let’s Wrap this up.
Dabble into the professional environment of healthcare and its rules, laws, and regulations. Remember, we are all human. Even though you are a healthcare provider, it is important for you to understand that you too are a visitor, patient, family member, and a coworker. You are not just following these rules for everyone else or because you are required to. You are following them for yourselves so you can stay safe and go home to your family healthy. Having OSHA and Joint Commission in alliance helps us to communicate and learn all the rules and regulations you and me are to abide by. I’ve learned things just by researching this topic and I have been in healthcare for 18 years. Will I visit OSHA tool box talks again? Absolutely!
Cheers!
Kathleen
travelimagingnut.com