
Workers who provide direct patient care are at risk of contracting infectious diseases from their workplace. Nurses, technicians and other hospital workers are exposed to infectious agents as part of their occupation.
OSHA is considering standards that would apply to control and limit occupational exposure to infectious diseases in a patient care setting and in other occupations, such as housekeeping, food service, and custodial in a hospital or long term care facility where workers may be exposed to infectious agents - similar to those in place for the construction industry for example, governing fall protection to reduce the risk of falls at work.
This is the first step in OSHA considering whether to formulate standards for exposure to infectious agents in this setting. The Agency will hold meetings in Washington, D.C. later this month on this issue.
For more information, go to http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=FEDERAL_REGISTER&p_id=22115.
WARNING:
If you were seriously hurt at work don't talk to any insurance adjuster, nurse case manager, give a recorded statement or sign anything until you read Protect Your Rights: The Injured Worker's Guide to D.C. Workers' Compensation or talk to an experienced lawyer.
Protect Your Rights is a 75 page book on D.C. workers compensation and is available free to anyone who has been hurt at work or any family member of anyone hurt on the job.
Written by nationally recognized, Board Certified trial attorney Frank R. Kearney, this book explains your rights and responsibilities - everything the insurance company won't do.
Donahoe Kearney, LLP
1634 Eye Street N.W.
Suite 500
Phone: (202) 393-3320
Fax: (202) 393-3324
Get Directions