Florida Senate - 2007                      COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
    Bill No. SB 2208
                        Barcode 441646
                            CHAMBER ACTION
              Senate                               House
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       04/10/2007 10:25 PM         .                    
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11  The Committee on Health Regulation (Aronberg) recommended the
12  following amendment:
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14         Senate Amendment 
15         On page 2, line 28, through
16            page 5, line 14, delete those lines
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18  and insert:  in its membership members of the nursing staff
19  from various units of the facility;
20         2.  Analysis of the risk of injury to patients, nurses,
21  and health care workers posed by the patient-handling and
22  moving needs of the patient populations served by the hospital
23  and the physical environment in which patient handling and
24  movement occurs; 
25         3.  Evaluation of alternative ways to reduce risks
26  associated with patient handling and moving, including
27  evaluation of equipment and the environment;
28         4.  Establishment of a program that will eliminate
29  manual lifting, moving, and repositioning of patients, which
30  poses risks of injury based on current research and practice;
31         5.  Establishment of a patient-handling hazard
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    9:44 AM   03/26/07                             s2208b-hr27-t27

Florida Senate - 2007 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. SB 2208 Barcode 441646 1 assessment. This assessment must consider such variables as 2 patient-handling tasks, types of nursing units, patient 3 populations, and the physical environment of patient care 4 areas; 5 6. Development of a process to identify the 6 appropriate use of the safe patient handling policy based on 7 the patient's physical and medical condition and the 8 availability of lifting equipment or lift teams; 9 7. Acquisition of, training with, and deployment of 10 sufficient equipment and aids so that manual lifting, 11 repositioning, or movement of all or most of a patient's 12 weight is restricted to emergency, life-threatening, or 13 otherwise exceptional circumstances; 14 8. Adoption of procedures for a nurse to employ in 15 order to refuse to perform, or be involved in, patient 16 handling or movement that the nurse believes in good faith 17 will expose a patient or the nurse to an unacceptable risk of 18 injury; 19 9. Submission of an annual report to the governing 20 body of the hospital and the agency on activities related to 21 the identification, assessment, and development of strategies 22 to control risk of injury to patients, nurses, and other 23 health care workers associated with the lifting, transferring, 24 repositioning, or movement of a patient; 25 10. Development of a process to identify the 26 appropriate use of the safe patient handling policy based on 27 the patient's physical and medical condition and the 28 availability of lifting equipment or lift teams; 29 11. An annual performance evaluation of the program to 30 determine its effectiveness, with the results of the 31 evaluation reported to the safe patient handling committee. 2 9:44 AM 03/26/07 s2208b-hr27-t27
Florida Senate - 2007 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. SB 2208 Barcode 441646 1 The evaluation shall determine the extent to which 2 implementation of the program has resulted in a reduction in 3 claims of musculoskeletal disorders and days of lost work 4 attributable to musculoskeletal disorders caused by patient 5 handling, and include recommendations to increase the 6 program's effectiveness; 7 12. Publication of the policy, a plan for implementing 8 the program, and publication of the results of an annual 9 evaluation that uses data analysis to measure the success of 10 the program; and 11 13. Consideration of the feasibility of incorporating 12 patient handling and movement equipment, or the physical space 13 and construction design needed to incorporate that equipment 14 at a later date, when developing architectural plans for 15 constructing or remodeling a hospital, or a unit of a hospital 16 in which patient handling and movement occurs. 17 (3) A hospital may not penalize, discriminate against, 18 or retaliate in any manner against an employee with respect to 19 compensation for, or terms, conditions, or privileges of, 20 employment if such an employee in good faith, individually or 21 in conjunction with another person or persons: 22 (a) Reports a violation or suspected violation of this 23 section to a regulatory agency, a private accreditating body, 24 or management personnel of the hospital; 25 (b) Initiates, cooperates in, or otherwise 26 participates in an investigation or proceeding brought by a 27 regulatory agency or private accrediting body concerning 28 matters covered by this section; 29 (c) Informs or discusses violations or suspected 30 violations of this section with any other employee, with any 31 representative of an employee, or with the public; or 3 9:44 AM 03/26/07 s2208b-hr27-t27