WING USA SPH Legislative Update July 14, 2009:Coalition for Healthcare Worker and Patient Safety (CHAPS) Formed
for Passage of HR 2381 Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2009
The new “Coalition for Healthcare Worker and Patient Safety” (CHAPS) was recently formed for passage of HR 2381 Nurse and Health Care Worker
Protection Act of 2009. On May 13, 2009, U.S. Representative John Conyers, Jr. (Democrat, Michigan District 14),
introduced national legislation for the third time calling for the safe handling of dependent patients and residents throughout
the American health care system (see details at American health care system).
HR 2381 would mandate the safe lifting and moving of all patients and residents by use of modern patient-lift equipment,
instead of using the backs of nurses,nurse assistants, and other health care workers to handle such hazardous amounts of weight.
The Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2009 calls for “the use of engineering controls to perform lifting, transferring,
and repositioning of patients and the elimination of manual lifting of patients by direct-care registered nurses and all other health
care workers, through the use of mechanical devices to the greatest degree feasible except where the use of safe patient handling
practices can be demonstrated to compromise patient care. The standard shall apply to all health care employers.”
Safe Patient Handling Protects Patients and Healthcare Workers
Replacing the unsafe nursing practice of manual patient and resident lifting with safe lift and transfer equipment would
allow many nurses, nurse assistants, and other healthcare workers to escape from working with chronic back pain,
and from the devastating injuries, lifetime disabilities, and loss of career caused by manual patient lifting.
Eliminating manual lifting would also protect patients and residents against pain and injuries caused by manual
lifting such as bruising, abrasions, skin tears, tube dislodgement, dislocations, and being dropped.
CHAPS is born
To this end, with a vision of reducing injuries caused by manual lifting, the Coalition for Healthcare Worker and Patient Safety
was formed in June 2009 under the leadership of Marsha Medlin, RN. A broad coalition of organizations and individuals are now
collaborating in the effort for passage of HR 2381, including Work Injured Nurses’ Group USA (WING USA), National Network of Career
Nursing Assistants (NNCNA), United American Nurses (UAN, AFL-CIO), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Minnesota Nurses
Association (MNA), plus a variety of others including occupational health and safety professionals, professional nursing associations,
labor unions representing healthcare workers, workers’ compensation carriers, patient lift equipment companies, and other organizations
and individuals committed to patient and healthcare worker safety.
Patient handling affects us all!
Being lifted or moved by healthcare workers will literally, physically, touch every single one of us, or someone we love, at some point in time!
The toll of manual lifting of patients and residents is tremendous on healthcare workers who remain among top occupations for
disabling musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). In 2007, registered nurses suffered 8,580 [reported and accepted] MSDs, seventh highest
in the country. Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants suffered the second highest number at 24,340 MSDs, and the highest rate of
MSDs in the country at 252 per 10,000 workers, over seven times the national MSD average for all occupations. EMTs and paramedics had
the second highest rate with 179 MSDs per 10,000 workers. Categories of healthcare workers combined consistently outrank every
other industry for musculoskeletal disorders, primarily from manually lifting and moving people
(http://www.aflcio.org/issues/safety/memorial/upload/_20.pdf, http://www.bls.gov/iif/home.htm Chart A,
and http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/osh2.pdf).
Co-sponsors Needed for Passage of HR 2381
HR 2381 was introduced by Representative Conyers on May 13, 2009, with one co-sponsor, Representative Lynn Woolsey (Democrat, California District 6).
On July 7, 2009, Representative Carolyn McCarthy (Democrat, New York District 4) came on board as the second co-sponsor.
Many more co-sponsors are needed to move the safe patient handling bill forward! You can help! Visit, call, and write U.S. Representatives in Congress from your state, asking them to co-sponsor HR 2381 Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2009.
More info about CHAPS
For more info about CHAPS, or to be added to the CHAPS email list, contact the principal organizer of CHAPS, Marsha Medlin, RN, at
chaps@safeliftingsolutions.com
Anne Hudson, RN, BSN Founder, Work Injured Nurses' Group USA (WING USA) Coos Bay, Oregon Email:
anne@wingusa.org
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