The Health Facilities Community Blog

 

To: Administrators and Directors   From: Greg Schlosser, Branch Chief, Health Facility Quality & Education Branch                                                                  Effective June 21, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued an emergency temporary standard (https://www.osha.gov/coronavirus/ets) to protect healthcare workers from contracting coronavirus. The healthcare emergency temporary standard establishes new requirements and is aimed at protecting workers in healthcare settings where suspected or confirmed coronavirus patients are treated; these include employees in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, home healthcare workers, and ambulatory care centers*   (* Ambulatory care is defined by OSHA in the standard as healthcare services performed on an outpatient basis, without admission to a hospital or other facility. It is provided in settings such as: Offices of physicians and other health care professionals; hospital outpatient departments; ambulatory surgical centers; specialty clinics or centers (e.g., dialysis, infusion, medical imaging); and urgent care clinics.)   Employers must comply with most provisions within 14 days and with the remaining provisions within 30 days. We encourage providers to review the standard.   NOTE: The emergency standard exempts from coverage certain workplaces where all employees are fully vaccinated and individuals with possible COVID-19 are prohibited from entry, and it exempts from some of the requirements fully vaccinated employees in well-defined areas where there is no reasonable expectation that individuals with COVID-19 will be present.   The standard will require non-exempt facilities to conduct a hazard assessment and have a written plan to mitigate virus spread, and requires healthcare employers to provide some employees with N95 respirators or other personal protective equipment. In addition, covered employers must ensure 6 feet of distance between workers. In situations where this is not possible, employers should erect barriers between employees where feasible.   The standard also requires covered employers to provide workers with paid time off to get vaccinated and to recover from any side effects. Covered employees who have coronavirus or who may be contagious must work remotely or otherwise be separated from other workers if possible, or be given paid time off up to $1400 per week. For most businesses with fewer than 500 employees, tax credits in the American Rescue Plan may be reimbursed through these provisions.    For more information, please contact John Olaechea, Outreach Specialist, at: 720-264-6586 or olaechea.john@dol.gov.