§ 2997-k. Safe patient handling committees; programs. 1. On or before
January first, two thousand sixteen, each health care facility shall
establish a safe patient handling committee (referred to in this section
as a "committee" except where the context clearly requires otherwise)
either by creating a new committee or assigning the functions of a safe
patient handling committee to an existing committee, including but not
limited to a safety committee or quality assurance committee, or
subcommittee thereof. The purpose of a committee is to design and
recommend the process for implementing a safe patient handling program
for the health care facility. The committee shall include individuals
with expertise or experience that is relevant to safe patient handling,
including risk management, nursing, purchasing, or occupational safety
and health, and in facilities where there are employee representatives,
at least one shall be appointed on behalf of nurses and at least one
shall be appointed on behalf of direct care workers. One half of the
members of the committee shall be frontline non-managerial employees who
provide direct care to patients. At least one non-managerial nurse and
one non-managerial direct care worker shall be on the safe patient
handling committee. In health care facilities where a resident council
is established, and where feasible, at least one member of the safe
patient handling committee shall be a representative from the resident
council. The committee shall have two co-chairs with one from management
and one frontline non-managerial nurse or direct care worker.

2. On or before January first, two thousand seventeen, each health
care facility, in consultation with the committee, shall establish a
safe patient handling program. As part of this program, a health care
facility shall:

(a) implement a safe patient handling policy, considering the elements
of the sample safe patient handling policies and best practices
disseminated by the commissioner, as well as the type of facility and
its services, patient populations and care plans, types of caregivers,
and physical environment, for all shifts and units of the health care
facility. Implementation of the safe patient handling policy may be
phased-in;

(b) conduct a patient handling hazard assessment. This assessment
should consider such variables as patient-handling tasks, types of
nursing units, patient populations and the physical environment of
patient care areas;

(c) develop a process to identify the appropriate use of the safe
patient handling policy based on the patient's physical and medical
condition and the availability of safe patient handling equipment. The
policy shall include a means to address circumstances under which it
would be contraindicated based on a patient's physical, medical,
weight-bearing, cognitive and/or rehabilitative status to use lifting or
transfer aids or assistive devices for particular patients;

(d) provide initial and on-going yearly training and education on safe
patient handling for current employees and new hires, and establish
procedures to ensure that retraining for those found to be deficient is
provided as needed;

(e) set up and utilize a process for incident investigation and
post-investigation review which may include a plan of correction and
implementation of controls;

(f) conduct an annual performance evaluation of the program to
determine its effectiveness, with the results of the evaluation reported
to the committee. The evaluation shall determine the extent to which
implementation of the program has resulted in a reduction in the risk of
injury to patients, musculoskeletal disorder claims and days of lost
work attributable to musculoskeletal disorders by employees caused by
patient handling, and include recommendations to increase the program's
effectiveness;

(g) when developing architectural plans for constructing or remodeling
a health care facility or a unit of a health care facility in which
patient handling and movement occurs, consider the feasibility of
incorporating patient handling equipment or the physical space and
construction design needed to incorporate that equipment at a later
date; and

(h) develop a process by which employees may refuse to perform or be
involved in patient handling or movement that the employee reasonably
believes in good faith will expose a patient or health care facility
employee to an unacceptable risk of injury. Such process shall require
that the nurse or direct care worker make a good faith effort to ensure
patient safety and bring the matter to the attention of the facility in
a timely manner. A health care facility employee who reasonably and in
good faith follows the process developed by the health care facility in
accordance with this subdivision shall not be the subject of
disciplinary action by the health care facility for the refusal to
perform or be involved in the patient handling or movement.