§ 2997-h. Definitions. For the purposes of this title:

1. "Health care facility" shall mean general hospitals, residential
health care facilities, diagnostic and treatment centers, and clinics
licensed pursuant to article twenty-eight of this chapter, facilities
which provide health care services and are licensed or operated pursuant
to article eight of the education law, article nineteen-G of the
executive law or the correction law, and hospitals and schools defined
in section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law.

2. "Nurse" shall mean a registered professional nurse or a licensed
practical nurse as defined by article one hundred thirty-nine of the
education law.

3. "Direct care worker" shall mean any employee of a health care
facility who is responsible for patient handling or patient assessment
as a regular or incidental part of his or her employment, including any
licensed or unlicensed health care worker.

4. "Employee representative" shall mean the recognized or certified
collective bargaining agent for nurses or direct care workers of a
health care facility.

5. "Safe patient handling" shall mean the use of engineering controls,
lifting and transfer aids, or assistive devices by staff to perform the
acts of lifting, transferring and repositioning health care patients and
residents.

6. "Musculoskeletal disorders" shall mean conditions that involve the
nerves, tendons, muscles and supporting structures of the body.