A new alliance between the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Association of Health Care Assistants aims to help protect certified nursing assistants in Missouri from exposure to safety and health hazards.
The agreement, signed by OSHA’s regional office and NAHCA last month, provides the framework for a new alliance. OSHA and NAHCA will provide CNAs and their employers with training and education on mental health and suicide prevention; how to identify, prevent and control common industry hazards such as slips, trips and falls; ergonomic injuries; workplace violence; and unsafe biological and chemical exposures. Additionally, the organizations will educate CNAs on reporting unsafe working conditions.
NAHCA members work in nursing homes, assisted living communities, and home care and hospice providers as well as hospitals. The alliance affects CNAs in Missouri’s nursing homes.
“Their care for nursing home residents unable to care for themselves and their contributions to keeping these residents safe and comfortable are invaluable,” OSHA Regional Administrator in Kansas City Billie Kizer stated.
“This alliance will help ensure that the people who dedicate themselves to caring for so many others in our communities are protected against the most prevalent industry hazards,” Kizer added.
Through OSHA’s national alliance program, the agency establishes collaborative working relationships with organizations, such as such as trade and professional associations, labor unions, educational institutions, community and faith-based groups, and government agencies that are committed to workplace safety and health.
For example, the Colorado Health Care Association and OSHA previously signed an agreement in March for the trade group to have an “ambassador-level alliance.” It was the first long-term care advocacy group to reach this level, according to a spokeswoman for the US Department of Labor.
“The alliance is really about a two-way dialogue between providers and OSHA,” Doug Farmer, president and CEO of the Colorado Health Care Association, said in a statement to McKnight’s.
