Alliances
Organizations that AOHP partners with are the National Alliance for the Primary Prevention of Sharps Injuries (NAPPSI) and the International Society for the Prevention of Sharps Injuries (ISIPS).
NIOSH and AOHP Signing of MOU
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare (AOHP) established a collaborative partnership to improve workplace safety and health in the healthcare setting with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU).
Click here for
more information.
OSHA's mission is to assure the safety and health of America's workers by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual improvement in workplace safety and health.
For more information go to http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/alliances/aohp/aohp.html
May
4-10, 2008: 2008 North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH)
Week
The Association of Occupational Health Professionals and a number of other Alliance Program participants are supporting 2008 NAOSH Week, "Safety is Good Business." Sponsored annually by the American Society of Safety Engineers and the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering, the Week focuses on the importance of preventing injuries and illnesses in the workplace. Visit this site http://www.asse.org/newsroom/naosh08/partners.php for more information.
OSHA’s guidance on Pandemic Flu
Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response Guidance for Healthcare Workers and Healthcare Employers Link to: http://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA_pandemic_health.pdf
Our Alliance with OSHA
Association of Occupational Health Professionals in
Healthcare (AOHP) signed February 19, 2004.
OSHA’s Alliance with the AOHP will provide the association’s members and others with information, guidance, and access to training resources to help them protect employees’ health and safety. The organizations will work to reduce and prevent exposure to patient-handling hazards, bloodborne diseases and bioterrorism in healthcare facilities. The goals of the Alliance include:
Training and education: -
Develop workplace safety and health curricula for training and
education programs on patient handling and bloodborne pathogens for healthcare
institutions and workers.
Outreach and communication:
- Speak, exhibit, or appear at conferences such as AOHP's national and chapter events.
- Cross-train OSHA personnel and industry safety and health professionals in AOHP's best practices or effective approaches, as jointly determined by OSHA and AOHP.
- Work with other Alliance participants on specific issues and projects related to the healthcare setting that are addressed and developed through the Alliance Program.
- OSHA/AOHP Alliance Press Release click here to read more.
Find out more about the AOHP/OSHA Alliance
Milestones and Successes
Association of Occupational Health Professionals Alliance Milestones and
Successes (2005, March).
Products and Resources
OSHA Safety and Health Topics Pages
OSHA eTools
Activities and Events
- OSHA’s Teen Summer Job Safety Campaign and its kick-off event
- October 12-15, 2005: AOHP 25th Annual National Conference, Crown Plaza Hotel, San Antonio, Texas.
- October 6-9, 2004: AOHP 24th Annual National Conference, Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, Tampa Bay, Florida.
- October 7, 2004: Paula White, Director, Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs, USDOL-OSHA gave the keynote address "An OSHA Update on Cooperative Programs," to AOHP members.
- Sandi Khan, Safety and Occupational Health Specialist, USDOL-OSHA staffed the OSHA/AOHP Alliance exhibit booth.
Latest Update on Alliance Activities - OSHA Alliance Update-June 2005
There have been two conference call implementation team meetings – one on March 28 and the other on May 24. During the March conference call, Dr. Bob Curtis from OSHA explained the differences between the Safety and Health Topic pages and eTools.
The Safety and Health Topic pages serve a resource for items of interest for a specific topic. An example would be Bloodborne Pathogens. ETools are developed as training tools. For example the Hospital eTool is designed by departments and also includes a section on Health Care Wide Hazards. Visit the OSHA website at www.osha.gov to review these resources.
To begin to address safe patient handling in the acute care setting, the AOHP team wanted to evaluate patient mobility assessment tools. The assessment tool used by Dr. Audrey Nelson was the tool that the team reviewed. Members felt that this was a tool that could be utilized in the acute care setting. During our call in May we learned of some other tools and want to review those before making a final decision. The implementation team welcomes any additional input from members if there are assessment tools that are being used.
This spring, Jan Frustaglia, Region 2 Director and Carolyn (Kirkpatrick) Amrich, AOHP member and supervisor of Employee Health at Children’s Medical Center, Dallas, Texas were invited to make a presentation on safe patient handling and bloodborne pathogens to approximately 50 Region VI OSHA consultants. This was the first time that AOHP had the opportunity to be a part of training for OSHA.
OSHA is also seeking examples of success stories in healthcare facilities. These can be related to patient handling or reduction in sharps injuries. Please forward these to MaryAnn Gruden.As AOHP chapters plan meetings, keep in mind that OSHA will provide speakers. Contact the OSHA office closest to the chapter to secure speakers. Visit the OSHA website identified above to locate the OSHA office nearest the chapter.
AOHP has also been asked to review a guide that is being developed related to hospital-based first receivers. AOHP provided input into the draft guidelines last year. Once it is drafted AOHP will have the opportunity to review it.OSHA will be at our national conference in San Antonio in October and we are looking forward to having them again be a part of our national meeting. Our next implementation conference call is scheduled for mid-September.
Please feel free to share any recommendations for Safety and Health Topic pages as well as any other thoughts regarding the OSHA Alliance with me by email at magaohp@yahoo.com or call 412/578-6792. I will look forward to hearing from you.
Beyond Getting Started:
A Resource Guide for Implementing a Safe Patient Handling Program in the Acute Care Setting
Developed by the AOHP OSHA Alliance Implementation Team
Summer 2006
Click here to download Beyond Getting Started Resource Guide
Click here to download the reference and samples
OSHA Alliance Report April 2006
Our work continues with the OSHA Alliance in 2006. Our quarterly
conference call was held in January and the renewal of the Alliance was
discussed. The resource guide for safe patient handling in the acute care
setting is being finalized and should be ready soon. We will notify members
when it is ready.
North American Occupational Health and Safety Week - April 30-May
6
As an OSHA Alliance partner, AOHP is actively supporting this year’s
celebration of North American Health and Safety Week (NAOHS Week), April
30-May 6. This celebration of occupational health was started by our Canadian
neighbors and is sponsored by the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering
and includes the United States and Mexico as partners. The goal of this
observance is to focus the attention of employers, employees, the general
public and all partners in occupational safety and health on the importance
of preventing injury and illness in the workplace, at home, and in the
community. OSHA will kick off the focus of the observance on May 1, 2006
at the Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. with a promotion of a safe
and healthy workplaces for young workers.
Posters to celebrate this observance are available from the national office. These posters are in addition to the posters for Occupational Health Nurses Week. More information for ideas on how to celebrate this event are available at http://www.naosh.org/english/. Information available through the website includes additional posters, ideas for contests, proclamations, etc.
AOHP Participates in Annual Review of Safety and Health Topics
Page
As part of the Alliance, OSHA seeks the input of Editorial Board members
on several Safety and Health Topic pages that are related to healthcare.
A review of the Bloodborne Pathogens and Needlestick Prevention page was
conducted during February and March. To visit the updated page, go to
the web at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/bloodbornepathogens/.
OSHA resources for Hurricane Katrina recovery
9/14/2005
As you know, OSHA is playing a key role in protecting the workers involved
in the Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. In addition to its activities
in the field, OSHA has established a Web page on Hurricane Katrina Recovery
(http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/hurricaneRecovery.html).
The Web page includes a number of fact sheets and Quick Cards designed
to provide employers and workers with quick information on the leading
hazards that workers face during recovery operations. The fact sheets
include Flood Cleanup, Working Safely With Chainsaws (English, Spanish),
Working Safely Around Downed Electrical Wires, Heat Stress, and more.
Many of the fact sheets are also available in Spanish. More fact sheets
and Quick Cards will be posted soon, so check back often.
The Web page also includes Public Service Announcements (in English and
Spanish), more detailed information bulletins, and a link to OSHA’s
Disaster Site Worker Outreach Training Program.
New OSHA Resources Related to Hurricane Clean-up and Recovery
9/20/2005
OSHA has created a Web page on Hurricane Recovery (http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/hurricaneRecovery.html) that includes fact sheets, Quick Cards, and other resources for employers, workers, and others involved in Hurricane Katrina cleanup and recovery efforts. Since that email was sent out, OSHA has added the following material to this Web page: West Nile Virus fact sheet, Portable Generators fact sheet, and a bulletin that provides general respiratory protection guidance to employers and workers who may be using respiratory protection for the first time. OSHA will be adding more fact sheets and Quick Cards in the coming days, so check back often.
OSHA Resource Links
Click here to view
OSHA resource links
Related Documents
OSHA, Association of Occupational Health Professionals form Alliance.
OSHA News Release (2004, February 19).
View
Document
AOHP Forms Alliance with OSHA For a Safer Workplace for Healthcare Workers.
AOHP Journal (2004, February).
View
Document
The National Alliance for the Primary Prevention of Sharps Injuries (NAPPSI)
is a group of health organizations, medical device manufacturers, healthcare
professionals, and others working cooperatively to reduce sharps injuries
by reducing the number of sharps in the healthcare workplace. Primary
prevention means utilizing technologies and practices that either reduce
or eliminate the need to use needles and other medical sharps.
For more information go to http://nappsi.org/
The International Sharps Injury Prevention Society (ISIPS) has been formed to reduce the number of accidental sharps injuries that occur globally by promoting the use of safety-engineered products and services. ISIPS is an international group of medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers, health organizations, healthcare professionals, medical waste disposal experts and others that are joining forces to provide education, information, and product knowledge that will help reduce the number of sharps injuries that occur each year.
For more information go to http://www.isips.org/