Anti-lifting legislation picks up support from nurses and unions

[Earth Bound Misfit]

http://www.mcknights.com/Anti-lifting-legislation-picks-up-support-from-nurses-and-unions/article/155486/

Nurses who are tired of manually lifting heavy patients have cause to cheer: A new piece of legislation has been introduced that would strongly encourage the use of mechanical devices when it comes to moving patients.

The Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2009 (S. 1788) was introduced Thursday by Sen. Al Franken (D-MN). If signed into law, the bill would require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to come up with guidelines that would eliminate, to the extent possible, manual patient lifting by registered nurses and other direct care workers. The use of mechanical lifting devices would be promoted. Facilities also would be required to create a plan to follow those guidelines. The bill strongly encourages input from RNs in the planning process.

More than half of RNs and direct care workers report chronic back pain, with 38% experiencing pain strong enough to merit leave from work, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The numbers for long-term care nurses likely skew higher, experts note. The bill has drawn support from the AFL-CIO, United American Nurses and the Minnesota Nurses Association.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

1. Where does funding for lifting deviecs come from?

Unless it si federally subsidized, ultimately the equipment will cut into hospital budgets.
Likely, more burdened budgets mean fewer workers or less wages.
Are there measures in the bill there that protect Labor.

[Vincardog]

2. Unless that lifting device is named Juan and it keeps him employed.

[shraby]

3. The money will probably come from the savings in

law suits that have been filed against hospitals and nursing homes by care givers who have had their backs trashed because their duties included lifting people who are too heavy for them..even a hundred pound patient is too heavy to lift manually, but that makes no difference if the rules are you do your job or leave.

[Warpy]

4. The intial cost will have a short payback period

when fewer nurses are injured enough to warrant treatment under workmen's comp and extended absences that require hiring higher cost temp workers to replace them until they heal. If they heal.

The lifting devices require nurses to operate them, so there will be no reduction in the labor force. The labor force will just be healthier.

People who whine about the cost of protecting vital workers puzzle me.