Health care

Topic index

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Overview

Hospitals, ambulatory health care services, nursing and residential care facilities, and social assistance services all fall under the health care label. The most common Oregon OSHA citations issued for health care facilities include hazard communication, bloodborne pathogens, safety committees, and emergency eyewash stations. Safe patient handling and workplace violence are also key issues for hospitals and residential care facilities.

All available content

Publications

Brochures/Guides
- Bloodborne pathogens: questions and answers about occupational exposure
  Describes Oregon OSHA's requirements for preventing exposure to hepatitis B virus (HBV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and other bloodborne pathogens, including hepatitis C virus (HCV).
  English Order printed copy 08/15/2024
- Understanding, recognizing, and solving ergonomic hazards in long-term care
  Learn how Oregon OSHA provides ergonomic assistance to long-term care facilities to help reduce care provider risk for strains and sprains.
  English Order printed copy 09/20/2022
Forms
- Oregon Dental Office Respiratory Protection Program
  Written Respiratory Protection Program Template for Oregon Dental Offices.
  English 07/24/2020
Labels and stickers
- Lift equipment
  Lift equipment sticker.
  English Order printed copy
Other
- Best practices for nursing homes
  Industry-specific ergonomic solutions: health care
  Best Practices from consultation visits and other sources
  English
References
- Rules with requirements
  We get many calls and emails from employers asking the same question. It begins: “Which of your rules have requirements for…” You can finish the sentence with words like “recordkeeping,” “employee training,” and “written documents.” To answer those questions, we’ve organized these rules requirements into a filterable, sortable, searchable table.
  English 05/10/2019

Education and training

Grant program
- Safe Patient Handling in Health Care:
  English Grant program
- Safe Resident Handling Program
  English Grant program
Online course
- Bloodborne Pathogens online course
  This course is designed to assist you as an employer or manager to meet the requirements of the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard.
  English Online course
- Curso en Línea de Patógenos Transmitidos Por La Sangre
  This course is designed to assist you as an employer or manager to meet the requirements of the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard.
  Spanish Online course

Rules and rule-related

Final Rules
- Division 1, 437-001-0700, Recording Workplace Injuries and Illnesses
  Administrative Order 4-2023
- Division 1, 437-001-0704 through 437-001-0742, Reporting Fatalities and Injuries to Oregon OSHA
  Administrative Order 4-2023
Interpretations
- Non-prescription medication
  07/02/1997
- TB testing requirements
  10/07/1997
Program Directives
- Anesthetic Gases
  Purpose: To notify and provide guidance to hospital administrators, operating room personnel, dental office personnel, and Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division (OR-OSHA) personnel regarding a potential hazard to operating room and dental office personnel due to chronic exposures to waste anesthetic gases.
  A-205 06/29/2000
- Local Emphasis Program (LEP): Hospitals and nursing and residential care facilities
  Purpose: This instruction describes policies and procedures for enforcement efforts to reduce occupational illness and injury in hospitals and nursing and residential care facilities in NAICS 622 Hospitals, 6231 Nursing Care Facilities, 6232 Residential Mental Retardation, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Facilities, 6233 Community Care Facilities for the Elderly, and 6239 Other Residential Care Facilities that are on the A or B tier of the Safety and Health scheduling lists.
  A-284 11/08/2022
- Safety of Health Care Employees
  Purpose: This directive provides guidance to Oregon OSHA staff on the implementation of the laws and rules addressing the safety of healthcare employees and the requirement for recording health care assaults.
  A-267 05/19/2008
- Tuberculosis: Enforcement Procedures and Scheduling for Occupational Exposure
  Purpose: This instruction provides uniform inspection procedures and guidelines when conducting inspections and issuing citations under ORS 654, the Oregon Safe Employment Act, and pertinent standards for employees who are occupationally exposed to tuberculosis.
  A-215 09/10/2018
- Workplace Violence Incidents-Enforcement Procedures for Investigating or Inspecting
  Purpose: The purpose of this instruction is to provide general policies and procedures that apply when workplace violence is identified as a hazard while conducting an inspection at worksites in industries with a high incidence of workplace violence and when responding to complaints, referrals and accidents where workplace violence is an issue.
  A-283 05/31/2017

Video Resources

Borrow from the Resource Center

Health Care
See available titles
Borrow DVDs about Health Care from the Resource Center

Watch Online

English
- Bloodborne Pathogens
  These videos are a series developed by Oregon OSHA Public Education as part of the Bloodborne pathogens online course.
  Language: English Length: various
- Easy Ergonomics for Caregivers grant project videos
  Easy Ergonomics for Caregivers, parts 1 and 2
  Language: English Length: 15 minutes
- Firefighters and EMS Ergonomics grant project videos
  Firefighters and EMS Ergonomics, parts 1 and 2
  Language: English Length: 16 minutes
- Safe Patient Handling in Health Care grant program video
  Applied ergonomics for nurses and health care workers and patient orientation.
  Language: English Length: 30 minutes
- To The Point About Bloodborne Pathogens (Safety Source)
  Controlling our exposure to bloodborne pathogens, tiny microorganisms found in human blood or other bodily fluids that can cause diseases, can prevent diseases and save lives.
  Language: English Length: 12 minutes
Russian
- K suti o patogenakh, peredayushchikhsya cherez krov' (Istochnik bezopasnosti)
  To The Point About Bloodborne Pathogens (Safety Source)
  Kontrol' vozdeystviya patogenov, peredayushchikhsya cherez krov', — mel'chayshikh mikroorganizmov, nakhodyashchikhsya v krovi cheloveka ili drugikh biologicheskikh zhidkostyakh, kotoryye mogut vyzyvat' zabolevaniya, — mozhet predotvratit' eti zabolevaniya i spasti zhizni.
  Language: Russian Length: 12 minutes
Spanish
- Al Punto Sobre Patógenos De La Sangre (Safety Source)
  To The Point About Bloodborne Pathogens (Safety Source)
  Controlar nuestra exposición a los patógenos transmitidos por la sangre, pequeños microorganismos que se encuentran en la sangre humana u otros fluidos corporales y que pueden causar enfermedades, puede prevenir enfermedades y salvar vidas.
  Language: Spanish Length: 12 minutes

Additional Resources

Healthcare workplace violence assault log

Safe Patient Handling Pays Advisor

Workplace Safety Violence Prevention Toolkit
A comprehesive toolkit from Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems to assist health care leadership and violence prevention committees