OSHA & CMS Interagency Agreement Improving Health and Safety in Hospitals
OSHA and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) signed an interagency agreement in August of 2012. They agreed to work together on the following three projects:
1. Developing a Healthcare Injury and Illness Fact Book;
2. Implementing safety and health management systems in hospitals; and
3. Implementing safe patient handling/lifting programs in hospitals.
What do/will OSHA and CMS expect of hospitals? As can be seen by their emphasis in the three project areas, OSHA/CMS expect hospitals to work in the prevention of injuries and illnesses through implementation of health and safety management systems and safe patient handling programs. The professionals at 1Source Safety and Health, Inc. (1Source) have been helping healthcare systems to develop, implement, and sustain these programs for almost 30 years, producing the following types of results and cost savings:
• Reducing workers' compensation cost over $700,000/year for 2 subsequent years for one system
• Achieving a 45% decrease in patient handling injuries after partial implementation of a SPH program throughout a healthcare system
• Significantly reducing patient falls and pressure ulcers for a healthcare facility
• Reducing the OSHA LWDIIR case rate from 6.3 to 3.3 for one hospital
• Achieving a return-on-investment (ROI) of over 9 for one hospital
• Reducing lost workday (LWD)/ 100 FTE from 43.7 to 20.5 for one hospital
• Helping a large healthcare system to reduce their program cost from $0.77 per $100 of payroll to $0.70
• Helping to assure compliance with OSHA, the Joint Commission, and other regulatory entities.
The consulting services we provided in helping to achieve these results generally were provided for less than the average cost of 1 disabling (lost workday) case.
1Source Safety and Health, Inc., 140 S. Village Ave., Suite 130, Exton, PA 19341
