FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 6, 2001

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ANA Denounces Efforts in Congress to Rescind OSHA Ergonomics Standard

Washington, DC -- The American Nurses Association (ANA) today reiterated its support for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) ergonomics standard that went into effect Jan. 16 and voiced strong opposition over congressional efforts to invoke the never-before-used Congressional Review Act (CRA) to repeal it. If passed by both houses of Congress, the measure would not only rescind the existing OSHA ergonomics standard, it would also bar OSHA from issuing any similar regulations in the future unless new legislation permitting such activity is passed by Congress and signed into law by the president.

"We are appalled at this attempt to subvert established process and override sound agency authority and decision-making through use of this little-known procedure," said ANA President Mary Foley, MS, RN. "And we are angry at overt industry attempts to discredit the facts about the ergonomic standard and undermine a sound process for their own benefit."

The new ergonomics standard has been under fire from industry groups since it was announced by OSHA last November.

"The long-overdue ergonomics standard was debated for over 10 years, while every day nurses across the nation were suffering debilitating, and often career-ending and life-altering, injuries from lifting and moving patients," Foley stated. "This standard is badly needed not only to reduce the high number of disabling back injuries and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) experienced by nurses, who rank fifth among the nation's workers for filing workers' compensation cases, but also to stem a mass exodus of nurses from direct care roles, which has resulted in part from a lack of workplace safety protections.

"In the face of a nursing shortage that is fast reaching crisis proportions, injuries are a major contributing factor to nurses leaving the profession," Foley stated, "especially for the bulk of the nation's nurses who will soon be reaching retirement age. Relieving the harsh working environment is crucial if we want to attract and retain nurses at the bedside."

Strong data have revealed the problem of overexertion injuries in hospitals, nursing homes and home care settings for over a decade. For example, 67 percent of the disabling injuries in nursing were due to sprains and strains, mostly involving overexertion of the back or trunk from lifting patients, according to a 1994 Bureau of Labor Statistics report. In addition, nurses have been found to miss more work from MSDs than workers in any other industry, including construction. And a National Academy of Science study, commissioned by Congress in January, has validated the need for ergonomic protections and cited well-established causal risk factors, which the new standard indicates should be avoided.

The lack of an enforceable ergonomics standard is not only costly to nurses but also to the health care industry. Costs include lost workdays due to injury, losses in worker productivity and workers' compensation.

A representative of the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), the agency responsible for Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, has testified that HCFA is in favor of the ergonomics standard because it would eliminate many of the health-care industry costs associated with workers' compensation and lost work days. The testimony occurred during a Senate subcommittee hearing last July questioning the economic impact of the standard.

Foley notes that the benefits of the standard will extend well beyond the traditional bottom line by helping to reduce nursing turnover and recruitment costs. "Health care institutions can save money and careers by implementing an ergonomics program recommended in the standard," she said. "The health care environment is now more dangerous than the construction or agricultural industries. The overexertion injury rate of nurses is more than four times higher than the rate for all workers in private industry. By protecting workers from injury, health care facilities also can invest in retaining a cadre of experienced and healthy nurses, which is extremely important in this time of increasing nursing shortages."

With proper enforcement, ANA believes the ergonomic standard will not only prevent back injuries and MSDs, but will also improve patient care. Through the use of lifting teams and devices designed to allow nurses to move patients more safely and efficiently, the risk of patient falls is decreased. In addition, patients benefit from increased mobility, reducing the risk of such complications as bed sores, blood clots and pneumonia.

"The benefits of the ergonomic standard are logical, documented and proven. It's time now for Congress to stop its political maneuverings and let OSHA continue in its rightful work," Foley stated.

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The American Nurses Association is the only full-service professional organization representing the nation's 2.6 million Registered Nurses through its 54 constituent associations. ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

2001 press releases

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