Good afternoon. My name is Becky Rice and I'm a registered nurse here in the District of Columbia and a member of the DC Nurses Association. I am here today representing the American Nurses Association to offer strong support for OSHA's Ergonomics Standard.

My disabling back injury took place in February of 1999 while assisting another nurse in the ICU where we moved a patient who was comatose and on a ventilator "up" in the bed. We positioned ourselves well, we started to pull, only the patient didn't go anywhere. She didn't move at all. I on the other hand, was almost doubled over with pain. I felt something sharp in my lower back. Within days I required surgery.

Fifteen months later, I remain out of work and, because my employer filed for bankruptcy in late December of 1999, all my workers compensation payments were stopped. The hospital stated that it didn't have the money to pay the bills. All treatments, surgeries and monetary benefits are being withheld for me and 115 fifteen other people at various stages of recovery. I will require additional surgery which is now being delayed due to the bankruptcy.

Although the actual event leading to my disability happened in an instant, I know from my nursing education and now from evidence collected by OSHA, and the Centers for Disease Control that the repeated trauma of bending, lifting and twisting over my last 8 years of nursing employment played a major role in my injury. I now know that there are lifting devices and other engineering controls that can decrease the type of resistance we encountered when moving this patient. Adequate staffing would also go a long way in lightening the loads when emergency situations require fast action and leave you little choice but to lift or move a patient in need. To give you an idea of some of the choices that nurses are now required to make when choosing between the patient and their own welfare, I'd like to tell you about the week of work just prior to my documented injury:

For several days during that week, I was assigned to a patient that was extremely heavy - approximately 350 pounds. On the day this patient was admitted, staffing had been reduced and the ICU was very busy. The patient had been transferred from the Emergency Room - she had been placed on blood-thinning medication; unfortunately, blood was oozing from every orifice and she was critically ill, requiring more IV access lines and more blood loss. After she was stabilized, I needed to clean the patient up. I tried to get help from other nurses but they were busy with less stable patients.

The family had called and were on their way in to see the patient and speak to the doctor. I put myself in their position. They were coming to the ICU for the first time and I didn't want to have them see the blood. The family had seen the patient on the regular floor the day before and the patient was up and walking around. The machines and the ventilator were going to be enough of a shock. Unable to get help, my frustration level was growing.

I attempted to clean her up and even asked management for help. No one was available. I tried to turn the patient as best I could. The patient was on a ventilator, unresponsive and obese. After hours of trying, I was finally able to get the bed changed with the assistance of one other RN. I had this patient for several days and even with 3 people assisting, the job of moving the patient was very difficult. No health care worker should be put in the position of having to jeopardize his or her own health while caring for a patient.

Following my injury, I worked the following 2 days and was to be off the third day. I thought I could rest then. However by the third day, I was hardly able to get out of bed. After my surgery, I knew something else was wrong, and my surgeon started to rule out different diagnoses. Workmans comp was very slow in authorizing tests and procedures, and now I am caught in this bankruptcy catastrophe.

It is often said that most people in the country are only a paycheck or two away from homelessness. Althouugh I am not there yet, I know of one nurse in my situation who has had to file bankruptcy. We are supporting each other through this process.

I have a little boy who is 7. He is the love of my life. I can't run after him or with him. When we go anywhere, we can't go too far or too fast, because I can't. He's a great little helper, doing much more than other 7 year olds can.

My husband has had to do alone, the work that both of us used to do together. The stress this injury has placed on him has been at times overwhelming. When you live with someone who is sick for a long time, it becomes depressing. Although we wanted to have another child, we have put that on hold until my back gets better.

I am a very dedicated and caring employee. I rarely miss worked - I often stayed late. I have not been able to go back to work and feel I may have to eventually look for something in another field. Although I love my job and caring for patients, I can't continue to risk my health on a daily basis..

If this standard had been in place, my injury could have been prevented. Instead of sitting here in pain today, testifying for you, I would be doing the job I love, working with my colleagues to care for patients.

I could go home and play with my son and enjoy sitting down to eat a meal, rather than standing. But instead, my colleagues at this table and I are here to advocate for this standard - something that ANA has been doing for more than a decade.

I am the face of back injuries – the reason why this standard is desperately needed.

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