Privately owned assisted living communities and continuing care retirement communities had a nonfatal injury and illness incidence rate of 6.5 per the equivalent of 100 full-time workers in 2016 compared with 6.7 in 2015, according to data recently released by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Across all private industry employers, injuries and illnesses occurred at a rate of 2.9 cases per 100 FTE in 2016, the same as in 2015.
State-operated nursing and residential care facilities had a combined average rate of workplace injuries and illnesses of 13.7 per 100 workers in 2016, and locally operated nursing and residential care facilities had a combined rate of 6.1, the bureau said. The 2015 rates were 7.1 for both.
Across all industries, the state-employer average as 3.7 and the local-employer average was 5 in 2016 compared with 3.4 and 5.3, respectively, in 2015.
Cases of injury or illness involving private assisted living or CCRC workers that required days away from work occurred at a rate of 1.8 per 100 full-time workers in 2016, and cases that involved a job transfer or restriction occurred at a rate of 2.2 per 100 full-time workers in 2016, according to the data. Across all private industry employers, the rates were 0.9 and 0.7 for last year, respectively.
The top three injuries requiring days away from work for workers at all community care facilities for the elderly in 2016 included falling on the same level, lifting or lowering, and being struck by an object, according to the bureau. In 2015 and 2016, the biggest cause of illness for assisted living and CCRC workers were skin diseases and disorders.
