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Daily News: Federal Safe-Patient-Handling Bill Introduced
Wednesday November 11, 2009

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Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., has introducted a bill mandating safe handling of patients. The Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2009 (S. 1788) requires the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to develop and implement a standard to eliminate, to the greatest degree feasible based on technological and medical considerations, manual lifting of patients by RNs and other healthcare workers through the use of mechanical devices. The bill also requires healthcare facilities to develop a plan to comply with the standard (with input from RNs), provides protection for RNs through refusal of assignment and whistleblower provisions, and requires the secretary of labor to perform audits.

The bill is a companion measure to H.R. 2381, introduced into the House of Representatives in May by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich.

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