OSHA Inspection: LAUREL HILL HEALTHCARE, LLC.

Issued

Sep 24, 2009

Abate by

Mar 1, 2012

Penalty

Initial $3,500 · Current $1,000 Reduced

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970:  The
employer did not
furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from
recognized hazards that
were causing or likely to cause serious physical harm to employees in that
employees were
performing tasks that have caused or were likely to cause musculoskeletal
disorders (MSDs):
(a)On or about February 4, 2009, and at time prior to, and continuing to
the present,
employees, including the Certified Nursing Assistants who work at Laurel
Hill Health
Care nursing home in Winsted, Connecticut, performed repeated
lifting/lowering,
pushing, pulling, bending, reaching, twisting, and other tasks associated
with
repositioning and transferring of residents.  These actions, performed by
employees, to
reposition and/or transfer partial and non-weight bearing residents
exposed employees to
hazards which have caused, are causing, or are likely to cause
musculoskeletal disorders
(MSDs) involving the back and/or shoulders.
Abatement:  Although some ergonomic-related risk factors may be reduced or
eliminated by
implementing a single means of abatement, in most cases a process that
includes analysis of the
worksite, instituting appropriate controls, providing appropriate response
to employee injuries,
and training and education (in both recognition of hazard and injury and
of avoidance of injury)
will provide the most effective method of addressing the risk factors.
The employer may adopt any measures that are effective in substantially
reducing or
eliminating the hazard.
Abatement controls include engineering, training and education, and
administrative and work
practice controls.
Engineering Controls:  Some examples of engineering controls that may
apply to this facility
include but are not limited to:  ensuring the availability and use of an
adequate
number of
mechanical lift-assist devices as well as transfer and repositioning
devices, which includes using
electrically powered beds to ensure that residents are repositioned or
transferred from the
appropriate bed height; modifying/replacing bed casters to reduce the
amount of bed movement
during resident transfers, repositioning or in-bed care tasks;
low-friction slip sheets, pivot
transfer devices, slide boards, double-handled gait belts, resident
self-assist devices, as well as
specialized equipment for use with residents with special needs (i.e.,
baritric residents);
providing a slip sheet or draw sheet to assist with repositioning and
in-bed care of residents on
pressure reducing surfaces such as air mattresses.
Training and Education:  Some examples of training and education that may
apply to this facility
include:  Providing competency based training to new employees and
retraining existing
employees who are responsible for transferring and repositioning
residents, stressing the
importance of reporting musculoskeletal injuries, providing regular
feedback to injured
employees on corrective actions in order to prevent future injuries,
emphasized training in the
appropriate use of mechanical lift-assist, transfer, and repositioning
devices, and training in
identifying and reporting malfunctioning lift assist equipment or any
other conditions that could
cause or contribute to employee injuries.
Administrative Controls:  Some examples of administrative controls that
may apply to the facility
include:  Developing a plan for the replacement of manually operated beds
with electrically
power operated beds.  Developing and implementing a preventative
maintenance program to
ensure that all beds, mechanical lifts and transfer devices are properly
maintained and promptly
repaired.  Developing and enforcing a policy requiring the use of transfer
and repositioning
devices when a resident's care plan documents the need.  Developing a
policy to place incoming
residents into living space that is compatible with the staff's needs to
use transfer and
repositioning devices.  Assuring that resident care plans address transfer
and positioning
assistance needs, that the nursing staff are aware of such needs and that
the care plan is kept
current.  Developing and implementing a program to investigate all
injuries, determine root
causes of the injuries and taking corrective action.  Ensure that all
injured employees are
provided with suitable light duty assignments that are not modified on the
nursing wing and do
not include inappropriate work assignments.
Work Practices Controls:  Some examples of work practice controls that may
apply to this
workplace include:  Monitoring resident repositioning to ensure that,
where required, it is
performed by a minimum of two persons.  Manual lifting of totally
dependant residents by
nursing staff will be prohibited unless exceptional circumstances dictate
otherwise, for example,
emergency situations or medical necessity, or resident refusal to allow
the use of mechanical
devices.

Issued

Jul 30, 2009

Abate by

Aug 4, 2009

Penalty

Initial $1,400 · Current $750 Reduced

Issued

Jul 30, 2009

Abate by

Aug 4, 2009

Penalty

Initial $1,400 · Current $750 Reduced

Issued

Jul 30, 2009

Abate by

Sep 16, 2009

Penalty

Initial $1,750 · Current $875 Reduced

Issued

Jul 30, 2009

Abate by

Sep 16, 2009

Issued

Jul 30, 2009

Abate by

Aug 4, 2009

Issued

Jul 30, 2009

Abate by

Aug 4, 2009

Penalty

Initial $1,750 · Current $1,000 Reduced

Issued

Jul 30, 2009

Abate by

Sep 16, 2009

Penalty

Initial $700 · Current $625 Reduced

Issued

Jul 30, 2009

Abate by

Sep 16, 2009

Issued

Jul 30, 2009

Abate by

Sep 16, 2009

Issued

Jul 30, 2009

Abate by

Aug 4, 2009

Issued

Jul 30, 2009

Abate by

Sep 16, 2009