Health and Safety for RNs | Workplace Violence
Advocating for Health and Safety in the workplace is a protected right. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) protects health and safety advocacy as a concerted activity. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) protects it under section 11 (c) of the OSH Act of 1970. Nurses represented by a union have further protections, under contractual language negotiated into contracts.
Weds., Feb. 24, 101 Ave. of the Americas (6th Ave.), Manhattan
Sponsored by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety & Health, the NYS Department of Labor and NYS Zero Lift Task Force. The full-day program will feature:
NYSNA is encouraging its members to join Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) in their efforts to support the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (S. 619/H.R. 1549). This new legislation would curb the use of human antibiotics in food animals.
Antibiotic resistant bacterial infections are an increasing concern for individuals, communities and the nation's healthcare system. Patients suffer longer illnesses and pay higher medical costs, and healthcare providers are left with little means of protection from bacterial infection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 60,000 Americans die annually from resistant infections. Despite rising infection rates and immense medical costs of antibiotic resistance, antibiotics and related drugs are routinely added to the feed of livestock and poultry to promote faster growth and compensate for unsanitary living conditions.
NYSNA urges its members to join with the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Nurses Association and other public health organizations; lend your support by signing HCWH's online petition and discover more on this campaign.
EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson and the representatives of 13 state environmental agencies agree that meaningful reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is essential.
In statements presented at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, both the federal and state environmental regulators proposed eight principles for reforming the TSCA. Since the law was enacted in 1976, the only regulation issued by the EPA was a ban or limit on production or use of hexavalent chromium in 1990.
The major change in the proposed TSCA reform would be to require chemical and product manufacturers to prove that chemicals are safe before they are used in commercially sold products. The Senate committee is expected to introduce legislation early next year.
NYSNA and the American Nurses Association support TSCA reform. A recent report, “Hazardous Chemicals in Health Care,” found that all the nurses and doctors who participated in the study had toxic chemicals present in their bodies.
Living on Earth (www.loe.org) is a weekly environmental news and information program distributed by Public Radio International. According to a recent report, hospitals and long-term care facilities dump up to 250 million pounds of drugs down the drain every year. The EPA's Ben Grumbles joins host Bruce Gellerman to discuss the problem and what to do with dated medication.
A pediatric environmental health toolkit on preventing exposures to toxic chemicals and other substances that affect infant and child health is available as a free download from the Physicians for Social Responsibility web site.
The Environmental Working Group, ANA, Health Care Without Harm and the Environmental Health Education Center, University of Maryland School of Nursing recently posted results of an online national survey of nurses and chemical exposures, employing a convenience sample. For nurses interested in this issue, the RN-HEAT task force may be the perfect advocacy group for you; contact Tom Lowe at NYSNA: 212.785.0157 for information.
RNs interested in health and safety, particularly facility committee members, now have an online resource for OSHA information that identifies some major requirements, and guidance materials that may apply to your healthcare facility.