OSHA: Hospital exposed workers to danger
- OSHA found that Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston exposed employees who worked with patients with behavioral health issues to physical threats and assaults.
- An aggressive patient pulled a security officer to the ground by the hair and kicked the guard in the chest and abdomen causing injuries.
- The officer, who was responding to an alert, lost consciousness, was taken to the emergency room and hospitalized.
- OSHA found the employer had inadequate policies and procedures to protect employees from physical assaults by patients who exhibited violent behavior during medical surveillance and treatment. The agency proposed penalties of $15,625.
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Safety-driving study request for oil workers
- NIOSH wants input from employers and workers involved in oil well servicing and drilling operations for a study exploring motor vehicle safety.
- The agency is conducting interviews with workers as well as focus groups with managers and supervisors to assess motor vehicle safety.
- As part of the process, NIOSH is conducting virtual, one-hour interviews with workers as well as focus groups with managers and supervisors.
- NIOSH says motor vehicle crashes are responsible for more than half of fatal work-related injuries in oil and gas extraction. Workers in the industry travel frequently between well sites and travel on rural roads.
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Michigan firm awarded for safety
- DeWys Manufacturing Inc., an Ottawa County, Michigan-based manufacturer, has been recognized by MIOSHA for implementing and maintaining outstanding workplace safety and health standards.
- A sheet metal manufacturing company with 239 employees, DeWys Manufacturing Inc., has an “excellent” safety and health management system in place.
- The firm joins only seven other companies awarded the Michigan Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (MSHARP) certification from MIOSHA.
- MSHARP recognizes workplaces that have achieved excellence in their safety and health practices, placing these companies among the elite few that go above and beyond MIOSHA standards.
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Hospital settles workplace violence citation challenge
- Universal Health Services Inc. in Colorado reached a settlement with the federal government in a four-year-old legal battle over workplace violence allegations.
- In a joint motion filed with the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, attorneys for the healthcare company and OSHA announced they had reached a deal on all claims.
- The case still must be sent back to the independent U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission for approval.
- The commission previously affirmed the workplace violence citation at issue in the case.
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