N.Y. Public Health Law § 2997-h: Definitions

§ 2997-h. Definitions. For the purposes of this title:

1. "Health care facility" shall mean general hospitals, residential

health care facilities, diagnostic and treatment centers, and clinics

licensed pursuant to article twenty-eight of this chapter, facilities

which provide health care services and are licensed or operated pursuant

to article eight of the education law, article nineteen-G of the

executive law or the correction law, and hospitals and schools defined

in section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law.

2. "Nurse" shall mean a registered professional nurse or a licensed

practical nurse as defined by article one hundred thirty-nine of the

education law.

3. "Direct care worker" shall mean any employee of a health care

facility who is responsible for patient handling or patient assessment

as a regular or incidental part of his or her employment, including any

licensed or unlicensed health care worker.

4. "Employee representative" shall mean the recognized or certified

collective bargaining agent for nurses or direct care workers of a

health care facility.

5. "Safe patient handling" shall mean the use of engineering controls,

lifting and transfer aids, or assistive devices by staff to perform the

acts of lifting, transferring and repositioning health care patients and

residents.

6. "Musculoskeletal disorders" shall mean conditions that involve the

nerves, tendons, muscles and supporting structures of the body.