Healthcare Industry Now Must Be in Compliance With OSHA ETS
An article from EHS Daily Advisory on Aug. 18 by Paige Hoster Good, reported that the healthcare industry now must be in compliance with OSHA ETS.
Good wrote that “An Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS) went into effect in early June 2021, and compliance with most of the provisions was required by July 6. The final set of provisions (pertaining to training, ventilation, and barriers) wasn’t mandated until July 21. With some exceptions, the ETS applies to all settings where any employee provides healthcare or healthcare support services.”
Further, Good commented on who’s covered under healthcare services are “Services provided to individuals by professional healthcare practitioners (e.g., doctors, nurses, emergency medical personnel, oral health professionals) for the purpose of promoting, maintaining, monitoring, or restoring health are covered. The services can be delivered through various means, including hospitalization, long-term care, ambulatory care (e.g., treatment in physicians’ offices, dentists’ offices, medical clinics), home health and hospice care, emergency medical response, and patient transport. They also include autopsies.”
Good also wrote that “Also covered are services facilitating the provision of healthcare services, including patient intake/admittance, patient food services, equipment and facility maintenance, housekeeping services, healthcare laundry work, medical waste handling functions, and medical equipment cleaning/reprocessing services.”
The ETS does not apply to these tasks and locations:
- Delivery of first aid by an employee who isn’t a licensed healthcare provider
- Dispensing prescriptions by pharmacists in retail settings
- Nonhospital ambulatory care settings where all nonemployees are screened before entry and people with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infections aren’t allowed to enter
- Well-defined hospital ambulatory care settings where all employees are fully vaccinated, all nonemployees are screened before entry, and people with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases aren’t authorized to enter
- Home healthcare settings where all employees are fully vaccinated, all nonemployees are screened before entry, and people with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infections aren’t present
- Healthcare support services not performed in a healthcare setting where direct patient care occurs (e.g., off-site laundry, off-site medical billing)
- Telehealth services outside of a setting where direct patient care occurs
Good concluded that “The ETS spells out numerous requirements for healthcare services settings.” The requirements include a COVID-19 plan, designated safety coordinators, hazard assessment, personal protective equipment, training, ventilation, and physical barriers.
