The following is excerpted from OSHA’s national newsite:
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Good Neighbor Care Centers LLC, doing business as Four Seasons Assisted Living in Coeur D’Alene, with three serious and two other-than-serious safety and health violations. OSHA conducted an inspection under the agency’s National Emphasis Program for Nursing and Residential Care Facilities.
Four Seasons was cited for three serious violations: failing to protect workers from musculoskeletal injuries to the back, shoulders and extremities while performing manual lifting and repositioning; failing to provide employees Hepatitis B vaccinations; and failing to use sharps without a built-in safety mechanism to prevent needlestick injuries. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
Other-than-serious violations were cited for overfilled sharps containers and lack of appropriate footwear to prevent slips and falls. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm. OSHA offers on-site consultation assistance, providing free and confidential advice to small and medium-sized businesses, with a priority on high-hazard work sites.
According to the department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, nursing and residential care facilities experienced one of the highest rates of lost workdays due to injuries and illnesses of all major American industries in 2011, the latest data available.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.