Bill > H4039

This bill, titled "Relative to safe patient handling in certain health facilities," aims to improve safety for both patients and healthcare workers by establishing policies and procedures for lifting and transferring patients. It defines key terms like "acute-care hospital," "health care facility," and "health care worker," and mandates that within six months of enactment, each facility must form a safe patient handling committee, with at least half of its members being frontline, non-managerial employees. By December 1, 2017, hospitals and nursing homes must adopt and implement a safe patient handling program to minimize manual patient lifting and movement, using specialized equipment like mechanical lifts and transfer aids, and conducting patient care ergonomic evaluations. The bill also requires specialized training for staff, procedures for workers to refuse unsafe handling tasks, and annual reporting on injuries and program effectiveness, with a deadline of January 30, 2018, for acquiring necessary safe patient handling equipment.