OSHA cites hospital for not protecting employees
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations this week to Nationwide Children’s Hospital after an investigation into accusations that it failed to protect employees from patient assaults.
The U.S. Department of Labor agency opened the investigation in November at the Columbus hospital’s Big Lots Behavioral Health Pavilion after a complaint alleging unsafe working conditions, the Labor Department announced Thursday. It inspected the facility multiple times from Nov. 25 to May 19, before issuing the two citations Monday.
OSHA proposes fines of more than $18,000, plus interest and administrative costs, and wants the hospital to implement specific changes by June 26 to prevent future violations.
Nationwide Children’s has 15 business days to comply, request an informal meeting with OSHA Area Director Larry Johnson or contest the agency’s findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
In a statement to The Dispatch, Nationwide Children’s said Thursday it is reviewing OSHA’S findings and working with the agency directly about its concerns.
“The youth mental health crisis has highlighted the complex challenges for behavioral health providers,” according to the statement. “Our priority is to provide the highest quality care for the children we serve in the safest possible environment for our employees, patients, and families.
“Nationwide Children’s has extensive safety policies, processes, and procedures in place, and our team continually reviews and updates these safety practices.”
Investigators determined nurses and mental health specialists were exposed to “sexual and physical assaults such as, groping, biting, kicking, punching, head-butting and scratching that resulted in serious physical injuries such as, lacerations, contusions, sprains, strains, headaches, and concussions,” the federal agency alleged in one citation.
The hospital also “failed to keep proper records of employee injuries as required,” OSHA alleged in another citation, which outlined 42 times, from Jan. 3 to March 11, that an injury and illness incident report was incomplete.
Most commonly, the reports failed to list the provider’s name, whether the employee was treated in an emergency room or hospitalized overnight, what happened leading up to and during the incident that caused the injury and the name of the person who completed the report, the agency alleged in the citation.
“Behavioral healthcare workers can be exposed to risks when treating patients who suffer with conditions that can lead to violent outbursts,” Johnson said in a statement. “Unfortunately, Nationwide Children’s Hospital failed to take the necessary precautions that could have prevented their employees from being injured.”
Nationwide Children’s is the secondlargest pediatric hospital in the United States and accepts more than 1.5 million patient visits each year at 68 facilities across Ohio and around the world, according to the Labor Department. nshuda@dispatch.com @Nathanielshuda