[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 10405]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF THE NURSE AND HEALTH CARE WORKER PROTECTION ACT OF 2013

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 25, 2013

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Nurse and 
Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2013, on behalf of myself and my 
colleague, Mr. George Miller of California. This legislation provides 
important protections to nurses, nursing aides, and other health care 
workers who face frighteningly high rates of injury due to unsafe 
patient handling practices. In 2011, nurses had the fifth highest rate 
of musculoskeletal disorders of any profession; nursing aides were 
number one.
  However, this does not have to be the case. Modern technology, in the 
form of mechanical lifts and other assistive devices, makes the manual 
lifting and moving of patients mostly obsolete. My bill would require 
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to promulgate a 
standard to protect health care workers from the some 36,000 severe 
injuries they suffer each year.
  In creating a federal standard to protect nurses, we will be joining 
health care facilities across the nation, and a number of states--such 
as Texas and California--who have passed similar legislation and seen 
dramatic savings as a result, mostly in the form of lower workers 
compensation and health care costs.
  I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this bill and join me in making 
health care workers and patient safety a priority.

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