OSHA Announces Increase to Health Care Facility Inspections

Environmental Services (EVS) workers in hospitals and long-term care centers will be on their toes in the next few months due to increased inspections. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced an enforcement memorandum for a short-term increase in inspections directed at hospitals and nursing care facilities that treat COVID-19 patients.

According to OSHA, the goal of the inspections is to ensure continued mitigation of COVID-19 and future variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and protect the health and safety of health care workers at heightened risk for contracting the virus. OSHA intends to expand its presence in targeted, high-hazard health care facilities during a three-month period from March 9, 2022 to June 9, 2022. 

“We are using available tools while we finalize a healthcare standard,” said Doug Parker, assistant secretary of labor for OSHA. “We want to be ahead of any future events in healthcare.”