Members testify on ergonomics standard

Jo-Anne Walsh has been a visiting nurse in New York City for 15 years and, she says, "I love my job." But that doesn't mean her job hasn't hurt her--physically and permanently.

Testifying before the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on its proposed ergonomics standard on March 24, Walsh and other members of the AFT described how having standards in place--with employee involvement and employer commitment--could help prevent needless musculoskeletal and cumulative trauma disorders. Walsh suffered a debilitating neck injury two years ago while attempting to lift the heavy equipment she was required to carry for her job into her car trunk. Visiting nurses regularly carry around the equipment they need for numerous daily home visits and are routinely involved with lifting and moving sick patients, without help or the proper equipment.

"I used to feel physically fit," said Walsh, who added she couldn't carry out domestic chores like she used to--including gardening, carrying laundry baskets and other everyday activities.

Aimee MacGillivray, a dental hygienist at the University of Connecticut health center, said that her 20 years of working at repetitive tasks and standing on uneven floors for long periods of time has caused a repetitive stress injury (RSI) of her wrist, a ruptured wrist tendon, and Greater Trochanter bursitis in her right hip. Among the treatments for her injuries was surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome, which involved the removal of a rib, with disappointing results, she said. She also has had cortisone injections in her right wrist for carpal tunnel syndrome. A colleague at the health center, Anthony Adams, also testified about the work injuries resulting from 22 years as a clinical lab technician, which involves endless, strenuous, repetitive tasks associated with dissecting tissue samples.

Most of the workers testifying before OSHA revealed that there was little remedy for the work settings that injured them in the first place, and no incentive for their employers to fix the situations that caused them harm.

Furthermore, said FNHP health and safety expert Darryl Alexander, "We suspect that too many workers take on these injuries as their own personal problems, taking personal leave and sick leave to seek treatment and recuperative time."

AFT representatives say that the proposed OSHA ergonomics standard is a step in the right direction but does not go far enough in protecting members whose job descriptions don't reveal lifting and repetitive strain requirements. The AFT is recommending that OSHA add more "triggers" to its proposed ergonomics standard, like worker reports of health hazards and risk factors. When employers know that employees are suffering musculoskeletal disorders or repetitive strain injuries or know about risks for these injuries, they should be made to act, says Alexander. Hearings on the standards took place March 13 through April 8 and throughout April in Chicago and Portland, Oregon. For more information, contact Alexander at 202/393-5674.

Wisconsin whistleblowers protected

Wisconsin health care professionals who blow the whistle on patient care problems where they work will be protected, thanks to legislation spurred by the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals and passed by the state legislature on March 7. The whistleblower bill, which passed the State Assembly unanimously and passed the Senate with only four votes against it, "is about patient protection," says WFNHP president Candice Owley, who is also chair of the national FNHP program and policy council. "Nurses and health care workers will no longer have to fear retaliation if they report a concern with quality care. This is a step in the right direction for Wisconsin."

As more and more health care providers use the bottom line to measure success, health care workers must be able to voice their concerns about threats to quality care. Thanks to union efforts, notes Owley, the final bill also requires employers to post written notices in "conspicuous" places detailing the new employee protections, with failure to do so resulting in fines to the employer.

On a federal level, patients' bill of rights legislation that includes whistleblower protections is still being considered in Congress. The Norwood-Dingell managed care reform legislation, which President Clinton calls the only real bill of rights, is being strongly supported by the Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals.