N.Y. Public Health Law § 2997-k: Safe patient handling committees; programs

§ 2997-k. Safe patient handling committees; programs. 1. On or before

January first, two thousand sixteen, each health care facility shall

establish a safe patient handling committee (referred to in this section

as a "committee" except where the context clearly requires otherwise)

either by creating a new committee or assigning the functions of a safe

patient handling committee to an existing committee, including but not

limited to a safety committee or quality assurance committee, or

subcommittee thereof. The purpose of a committee is to design and

recommend the process for implementing a safe patient handling program

for the health care facility. The committee shall include individuals

with expertise or experience that is relevant to safe patient handling,

including risk management, nursing, purchasing, or occupational safety

and health, and in facilities where there are employee representatives,

at least one shall be appointed on behalf of nurses and at least one

shall be appointed on behalf of direct care workers. One half of the

members of the committee shall be frontline non-managerial employees who

provide direct care to patients. At least one non-managerial nurse and

one non-managerial direct care worker shall be on the safe patient

handling committee. In health care facilities where a resident council

is established, and where feasible, at least one member of the safe

patient handling committee shall be a representative from the resident

council. The committee shall have two co-chairs with one from management

and one frontline non-managerial nurse or direct care worker.

2. On or before January first, two thousand seventeen, each health

care facility, in consultation with the committee, shall establish a

safe patient handling program. As part of this program, a health care

facility shall:

(a) implement a safe patient handling policy, considering the elements

of the sample safe patient handling policies and best practices

disseminated by the commissioner, as well as the type of facility and

its services, patient populations and care plans, types of caregivers,

and physical environment, for all shifts and units of the health care

facility. Implementation of the safe patient handling policy may be

phased-in;

(b) conduct a patient handling hazard assessment. This assessment

should consider such variables as patient-handling tasks, types of

nursing units, patient populations and the physical environment of

patient care areas;

(c) develop a process to identify the appropriate use of the safe

patient handling policy based on the patient's physical and medical

condition and the availability of safe patient handling equipment. The

policy shall include a means to address circumstances under which it

would be contraindicated based on a patient's physical, medical,

weight-bearing, cognitive and/or rehabilitative status to use lifting or

transfer aids or assistive devices for particular patients;

(d) provide initial and on-going yearly training and education on safe

patient handling for current employees and new hires, and establish

procedures to ensure that retraining for those found to be deficient is

provided as needed;

(e) set up and utilize a process for incident investigation and

post-investigation review which may include a plan of correction and

implementation of controls;

(f) conduct an annual performance evaluation of the program to

determine its effectiveness, with the results of the evaluation reported

to the committee. The evaluation shall determine the extent to which

implementation of the program has resulted in a reduction in the risk of

injury to patients, musculoskeletal disorder claims and days of lost

work attributable to musculoskeletal disorders by employees caused by

patient handling, and include recommendations to increase the program's

effectiveness;

(g) when developing architectural plans for constructing or remodeling

a health care facility or a unit of a health care facility in which

patient handling and movement occurs, consider the feasibility of

incorporating patient handling equipment or the physical space and

construction design needed to incorporate that equipment at a later

date; and

(h) develop a process by which employees may refuse to perform or be

involved in patient handling or movement that the employee reasonably

believes in good faith will expose a patient or health care facility

employee to an unacceptable risk of injury. Such process shall require

that the nurse or direct care worker make a good faith effort to ensure

patient safety and bring the matter to the attention of the facility in

a timely manner. A health care facility employee who reasonably and in

good faith follows the process developed by the health care facility in

accordance with this subdivision shall not be the subject of

disciplinary action by the health care facility for the refusal to

perform or be involved in the patient handling or movement.