Health and Safety Organizations, Government Agencies
WEC
New Jersey Work Environment Council (WEC) is a membership alliance of labor, environmental, and community organizations working for safe, secure jobs and a healthy, sustainable environment. HPAE works closely with WEC to strengthen health and safety and environmental standards and WEC provides health and safety training to our members.
OSHA
The federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) enforces safety and health standards for private sector workers in New Jersey. OSHA’s Region 2 office covers workers inNew Jersey and New York. OSHA also has three area offices in New Jersey.
The OSHA website has information about OSHA standards and health and safety topics by subject and industry, including a page devoted to healthcare facilities.
PEOSH
HPAE members who work in the public sector in New Jersey are covered by Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health (PEOSH), part of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. If you are thinking there may be an OSHA violation at your workplace you should contact your local HPAE Local President or Staff Representative for assistance.
CDC
CDC is the federal Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. There is an alphabetical list at the top of the CDC webpage to look up subjects such as influenza, emerging infectious diseases, and neo-plastic drugs, to name a few. CDC is also responsible for issuing guidelines and recommendations to hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
NIOSH
NIOSH is the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health and is part of the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC). It is considered the research arm of OSHA. It funds occupational safety and health research, conducts health hazard evaluations upon the request of unions and employers, supports academic training of health and safety professionals, and provides technical support.
The NIOSH healthcare worker page is a valuable resource.
News
HPAE statement on shooting at Tulsa medical center and other gun violence incidences
The latest tragic shooting in Tulsa, Oklahoma is a stark reminder to all of us that gun violence-in fact, violence in general-not only affects our schools but our healthcare institutions as well.
HPAE releases statement on Texas school shooting
This tragic moment calls on us all to be compassionate not just to the families of 19 children and two adults senselessly killed yesterday in Uvalde, Texas, but also to the anguished soul of an 18-year-old who perpetrated this tragedy.
HPAE congratulates Newark Mayor Baraka on his re-election
Emerson, NJ—HPAE members congratulate Ras Baraka on his re-election as mayor of the great city of Newark. Mayor Baraka has been a friend and partner in the struggle to empower healthcare workers, especially at Newark’s University Hospital. HPAE members at
Member’s Complaints Lead to Safety Successes at Cornerstone
Last August, 2018, President Priscilla Searles and members of Cornerstone HPAE Local 5112 complained to NJ Public Employee Occupational Safety and Health (PEOSH) about dangerous working conditions at the facility.
NJ Safe Patient Handling Conference, March 19
While NJ has a Safe Patient Handling law, it is our responsibility as caregivers to make sure that the law is enforced and implemented in every hospital.
Local 5112 Member Alert: State agency issues health and safety citation against Cornerstone
On October 31, 2018, the New Jersey Office of Public Employees’ Occupational Safety and Health (PEOSH) issued a citation against Cornerstone Behavioral Health Hospital resulting from a health and safety complaint filed by our union.
Wanaque outbreak crisis requires more detailed answers
How we treat the most vulnerable in society speaks volumes about who we are as a people, and about our values, and about our priorities.
Wanaque virus outbreak: Report details hand-washing lapses
In one case, a nursing assistant removed a soiled diaper from a severely disabled child, then, still wearing the same pair of gloves, attached a respiratory tube to the child.
DOH Launches Infection Control Campaign In Wake of Two Hospital Outbreaks
Deaths of children — nine from viral outbreak in Passaic County, one from bacterial outbreak in an Essex County hospital with ‘major infection control deficiencies’ — leads to new inspections, training
N.J. is deploying infection-control team to facilities linked to deadly outbreaks
The NJ Department of Health is dispatching a team of infection-control officials and experts to inspect five pediatric facilities next month in the aftermath of two separate viral and bacterial outbreaks..
NJ Officials Investigating Deadly Viral Outbreak at Rehab Hospital
Specialty facility in Passaic County has suspended admissions after seven children died, 11 more infected
Testimony of President Ann Twomey, Monday, May 21, 2018 at the NJ Senate Labor Committee in Support of the Thomas P Canzanella 21st Century First Responders Protection Act
Our union supports this legislation which serves to ensure that Workers Compensation coverage for First Responders - including nurses and healthcare workers – is appropriately provided without long costly legal battles.
HPAE Participates in National Health and Safety Conference
HPAE members and staff are attending the National Conference on Worker Safety and Health (#COSHCON17) this week from Tuesday to today. The conference is being held near Baltimore, Maryland.
Addiction Treatment Workers Respond to Governor Christie’s Drug Addiction Crisis Plan with Patient, Worker Safety Concerns
On behalf of addiction treatment workers at American Addiction Center’s Sunrise House facility in Lafayette, on January 13, 2017 HPAE formally requested that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seek a temporary injunction against the employer in order to prevent
HPAE Supports National OSHA Standard for the Prevention of Workplace Violence
At a public meeting sponsored by OSHA, HPAE Vice President Bernie Gerard and Local 5089 Grievance Chair Banita Herndon supported a national OSHA standard to prevent workplace violence in healthcare and social assistance workplaces.
Violent Incidents at Sunrise House Spark Workers to Raise Concerns for Patient and Worker Safety
After several incidents of violence at Sunrise House, HPAE, the union representing 125 addiction treatment workers at the facility, filed a complaint with the OSHA.
AAC/Sunrise House Faces Complaints Over Worker Rights, Safety Violations
Since the 125 staff members at AAC/Sunrise House voted overwhelmingly in favor of union representation with HPAE on June 29, 2016, management has committed a number of violations of workers' rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
Virtua Agrees to Settlement with OSHA, Must Take Remedial Actions and Pay Fine
Virtua Memorial Hospital reached a settlement yesterday with OSHA regarding citations and penalties which were issued on November 14th for various violations of the agency's regulations and policies on safe patient handling.
Nurse who was brutally assaulted by patient wins grievance case against BRMC
A BRMC nurse who was brutally assaulted in 2015 by a patient known to be violent won a grievance case against the Paramus facility, which must cover some medical expenses and back pay, an arbitrator has ruled.
BRMC must pay for nurse’s medical expenses after patient attack
Bergen Regional Medical Center must pay for an employee's medical expenses after she was attacked by a patient and accused the hospital of failing to offer a safe work environment, an arbitrator has ruled.
HPAE Responds to Consultant’s Report on Workplace Violence at BRMC
In testimony given to the BCIA today, health and safety expert Jonathan Rosen identified some key omissions in a report prepared by Joint Commission Resources BRMC's workplace violence prevention program.
Violence in the Workplace and Our Legal Protections
C4 became a battlefield last week when several staff members were injured by an aggressive patient. One of the nurses sustained a head and eye injury and a resulting debilitating headache.
CDC Issues “Key Zika Considerations for Healthcare Settings”
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has just issued a publication, "Key Zika Considerations for Healthcare Settings."
Unions Representing Healthcare Workers Petition for Workplace Safety
Today, a coalition of unions petitioned OSHA to promulgate a comprehensive workplace violence prevention standard to protect all workers in healthcare and social service settings.
Work Can Be A Stressful And Dangerous Place For Many
Employers' efforts to reduce stress get low grades in a new poll by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
N.J. health officials say they have only some violence reports for Bergen Regional hospital
New Jersey health officials only have records for five of the eight alleged cases of workplace violence inside Bergen Regional Medical Center that were detailed in a federal report, the acting health commissioner told lawmakers on Monday. Acting state Health
Violence at Bergen Regional Medical Center targeted
From The Record Bergen County Executive James Tedesco called Wednesday for sweeping action to stem the violence at Bergen Regional Medical Center, including assigning more police to the facility, ordering the hospital to hire consultants to assess safety and patient
Bergen Regional Medical Center: A climate of violence at hospital of last resort
In 2013, a 6-year-old girl in the juvenile psychiatric ward at Bergen Regional Medical Center was sexually accosted by a young boy who was also a patient, according to a lawsuit filed by the girl’s mother. The following year,
Thats all, folks - no more news!
Resources
- Monkeypox Factsheet
- HPAE Education and Training Program: Elements of an Effective Labor-Management Health & Safety Committee
- Fake Face Mask Guide for HPAE Members
- Health and Safety Organizations, Government Agencies
- Safe Patient Handling
- Workplace Violence Prevention
- Health and Safety Factsheets
- Workers Compensation
- Our Right to File an OSHA or PEOSHA Complaint Without Discrimination
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