In the United States one of the most dangerous places to work is in fact a nursing home. According to the US Labor Department it is the fourth most dangerous place to work. 16.2 out of 100 workers report a job related injury or illness. The only industries that rank that are meat packing in first with 21.5 workers per 100, motor vehicle manufacturing in second with 19.2 per 100 workers, and air transport in third with 17.7 workers per 100. 16.2 might not seem like a lot out of 100 but if you say that there are 100,000 workers in nursing homes in the US, in a year that means that 16200 people will report a work related illness or injury.
As nurses, aides and nursing assistants you are responsible for the well being of the residents in the nursing home. However increases in occupational hazards, particularly strained muscles, tendons, and ligaments any of which could be severe and potently crippling, are due to nursing homes are increasing in popularity as people transfer patients from hospitals to less expensive nursing homes. As a result the residents in nursing homes are becoming frailer and require more assistance. In addition, in an attempt to cut costs results in fewer nursing assistants being hired per nursing home. As nursing assistants try to pick up, move, or support the residents repeatedly, or even once or twice, on there own the chance for occupational hazards increase.
The most common injuries are a back strain or a wrist strain. These injuries are usually caused by attempting to lift or move residents and objects that are too heavy. There are other ways to get injured, heavy equipment can crush and bruise fingers and toes and other parts of your body. Nursing assistants also work closely with needles and other sharp objects. Accidental cuts and pricks could occur. This also has the potential to raise the chance of a blood borne pathogen being spread. But nurses or nursing assistants aren’t the only people who are at risk, other workers, such as janitors have other hazards, such as chemicals which can burn. Anyone who works in the kitchen has the risk for burns and cuts as well.
However despite all of these hazards and statistics, I’m not encouraging you to get up in arms and try and petition and strike for better working conditions. You can do that when the number of workers injured in nursing homes passes the number of injuries in meat packing. I am simply warning you about potential hazards in your jobs so that you can watch out for them and avoid situations in which you might be injured. Be careful and enjoy the rest of your day.
