OSHA Inspection: NORTH PROVIDENCE URGENT CARE, INC., NORTH PROVIDENCE PRIMARY CARE ASSOCIATES, INC., CENTER OF NEW ENGLAND URGENT CARE, INC. AND CENTER OF NEW ENGLAND PRIMARY CARE, INC.

Issued

Jul 1, 2021

Abate by

Oct 14, 2022

Penalty

Initial $5,461 · Current $1,000 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(a)(2): A respirator was not provided to each employee when necessary to protect the health of such employee:   a.) North Providence Urgent Care, Inc. and North Providence Primary Care Associates, Inc. located at 1830 Mineral Spring Avenue, North Providence, RI and Center of New England Urgent Care, Inc. and Center of New England Primary Care, Inc. located at 775 Centre of New England Boulevard, West Greenwich, RI:   On or about January 26, 2021, employees engaging in the care of patients were provided with KN95 protective devices for protection against aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 virus. At a minimum, an N95 NIOSH-certified filtering facepiece respirator is necessary to protect employees from aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Issued

Jul 1, 2021

Abate by

Oct 14, 2022

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(c)(1): A written respiratory protection program that included the provisions in 29 CFR 1910.134(c)(1)(i) - (ix) with worksite specific procedures was not established and implemented for required respirator use:   a) North Providence Urgent Care, Inc. and North Providence Primary Care Associates, Inc. located at 1830 Mineral Spring Avenue, North Providence, RI and Center of New England Urgent Care, Inc. and Center of New England Primary Care, Inc. located at 775 Centre of New England Boulevard, West Greenwich, RI:   On or about January 26, 2021, the employer did not develop and implement a written respiratory protection program with worksite-specific procedures for respirator use that included all provisions in 29 CFR 1910.134(c)(1)(i) - (ix), in that employees were not provided medical evaluations or fit-testing prior to initial use.   The employer required employees to wear N95 filtering facepiece respirators throughout their shifts while exposed to suspected or confirmed positive COVID-19 patients.

Issued

Jul 1, 2021

Abate by

Oct 14, 2022

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(e)(1): The employer did not provide a medical evaluation to determine the employee's ability to use a respirator, before the employee was fit tested or required to use the respirator in the workplace.   a) North Providence Urgent Care, Inc. and North Providence Primary Care Associates, Inc. located at 1830 Mineral Spring Avenue, North Providence, RI and Center of New England Urgent Care, Inc. and Center of New England Primary Care, Inc. located at 775 Centre of New England Boulevard, West Greenwich, RI:   On or about January 26, 2021, the employer did not provide a medical evaluation to determine each employee's ability to use a respirator before requiring the use. The employer required employees to wear respirators while providing care to suspected and confirmed positive COVID-19 patients.

Issued

Jul 1, 2021

Abate by

Oct 14, 2022

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(f)(2): Employee(s) using tight-fitting facepiece respirators were not fit tested prior to initial use of the respirator or annually refitted:  a) North Providence Urgent Care, Inc. and North Providence Primary Care Associates, Inc. located at 1830 Mineral Spring Avenue, North Providence, RI and Center of New England Urgent Care, Inc. and Center of New England Primary Care, Inc. located at 775 Centre of New England Boulevard, West Greenwich, RI:    On or about January 26, 2021, the employer did not provide a fit test to all employees required to wear respirators. The employer required employees to wear N95 filtering facepiece respirators to protect against the SARS-CoV-2 virus while providing care to suspected and confirmed positive COVID-19 patients.

Issued

May 24, 2021

Abate by

Oct 14, 2022

Penalty

Initial $136,532 · Current $69,000 Reduced

General-duty citation text

OSH ACT of 1970 Section (5)(a)(1): The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were not protected from the hazard of contracting the virus, SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), the cause of the COVID-19 disease, which can cause death:  a) North Providence Urgent Care, Inc. and North Providence Primary Care Associates, Inc. located at 1830 Mineral Spring Avenue, North Providence, RI and  Center of New England Urgent Care, Inc. and Center of New England Primary Care, Inc. located at 775 Centre of New England Boulevard, West Greenwich, RI:   On or about November 25, 2020, a doctor displayed symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and continued to interact with employees in the North Providence and West Greenwich practices.  This doctor tested positive for COVID-19 on December 4, 2020 and continued working throughout the four practices.  Employees working in the North Providence Urgent Care facility worked in close proximity to each other in areas including, but not limited to, the reception area. The employer did not implement engineering controls, such as portable high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) fan/filtration systems or barriers between adjacent desks.  Administrative controls such as, but not limited to, cleaning, disinfecting, and symptom screening of employees were also neglected.  The doctor did not initiate contact tracing or quarantine after close contact with a patient who was exposed to COVID-19.  Subsequent exposure and after receiving a positive COVID-19 test result, the doctor did not quarantine from the workplace(s).  The doctor's continued work throughout the practices facilitated the spread of COVID-19 within the four practices during the week of November 29, 2020 through December 5, 2020, where six employees tested positive for COVID-19.