Jan. 17, 2008

Patient-handling grants give financial lift to 67 health care facilities statewide

Sixty-seven health care facilities statewide have been awarded grants by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) Workplace Safety Consultation unit to help purchase equipment that will allow employees to safely handle physically challenged patients while lifting or moving them. The grants will help the organizations comply with new state patient-handling regulations taking effect July 1, making such situations safer for both patient and employee.

The state's nearly $7,700 matching-grants provide assistance to health care facilities -- defined as hospitals, outpatient surgical centers and nursing homes -- with the purchase of safe patient-handling equipment, training about safe patient-handling and training about the use of safe patient-handling equipment.

"Without a doubt, Minnesota's care providers take good care of our loved ones who are in great physical need," said Steve Sviggum, DLI commissioner. "Our department's research shows health-care-based careers experience a fairly high portion of our state's workers' compensation injuries and claims. So, this grant is intended to help care providers with the needed training and specialized lift equipment to help keep them safe."

In May, Governor Tim Pawlenty signed the Safe Patient Handling Act (Minnesota Statutes 182.6551 through 182.6553), which requires licensed health care facilities in Minnesota to adopt a written safe-patient-handling policy and establish a safe-patient-handling committee by July 1. The written policy must establish a plan to minimize manual lifting of patients by Jan. 1, 2011, through the use of patient-handling equipment. The law also provides $500,000 for the safe patient-handling grant program administered by DLI.

DLI's Workplace Safety Consultation unit, part of the Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MNOSHA), works with employers and employees to solve safety and health problems before they occur. It offers free on-site consultation services, upon request, to help employers improve their safety and health record, lower accident costs, and reduce MNOSHA citations and penalties.

-###-

News media contact:
James Honerman
(651) 284-5313