The Department of Labor recently sent out a press release announcing a National Emphasis Program (NEP) targeting Health Care Facilities including Residential Care Centers. This was following the 2010 Non-Fatal Injury Statistics report produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics that showed a substantial increase in the rate of lost time injuries specifically amongst Residential Care Facilities.
As with past NEPs issued on such items as silica dust, asbestos, etc, the effect will be an increased number of inspections performed by Cal OSHA within this targeted area of operations, especially those organizations with ex-mods over 125%. The four areas Cal OSHA will specifically focused on will include:
Residential Care Facilities can prepare for such inspections by ensuring that they have a formal written safety program that is implemented for all workplace hazards. In addition, Cal OSHA will want to determine that immediate and corrective response is taken around injury trends. If you are a Residential Care Facility and you need help developing either a safety program or an Injury and Illness Prevention Program, please contact your representative here at Chapman for help. To view a full copy of the press release, please click here.