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 SWINE FLU 
Union survey finds health and safety measures lacking for health care workers; Obama requests additional funding

April 30, 2009 - AFSCME International today released a press statement on a new union report, “Health Care Workers In Peril: Preparing to Protect Worker Health and Safety During Pandemic Influenza” (PDF).

Conducted by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the AFL-CIO and other unions, the survey concludes that workers face a very high risk of becoming infected when caring for patients with pandemic flu unless adequate health and safety measures are in place in advance of a pandemic. 

Go to the AFSCME Press Room for complete details.

“Our survey has identified serious deficiencies in the preparedness of health care facilities,” said AFSCME International President Gerald W. McEntee. “Unless hospitals, nursing homes and other facilities do a better job of addressing all health and safety areas surveyed, workers will become sick and, as a consequence, be unavailable to care for sick patients.”

AFSCME says that with no existing comprehensive federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard on airborne diseases designed to protect health care workers, the pandemic flu preparedness survey was conducted to assess the extent of employer efforts in planning adequate safety and health measures.

Survey results were based on information gathered in the following states: Minnesota, Michigan, California, New York, Washington, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Maryland, Hawaii, Florida, Iowa, and Nevada.

The types of health care facilities surveyed included: Hospitals, public health facilities, long term care, outpatient clinics, nursing homes, correctional facilities, home health settings, hospice, mental health department, and visiting nurse service.

The report warns, "The results of this survey indicate that healthcare facilities have made some progress in preparing for an influenza pandemic, but much more needs to be done if our nation’s healthcare system is to respond successfully to a pandemic. Health care workers will be at the front lines if and when this crisis occurs. In order for them to protect others, they must be protected first."

However, the AFSCME press release states that a number of government actions are recommended in the report to address the problem of protecting health care workers, including:

• a mandatory workplace standard issued by OSHA that broadly addresses airborne transmissible disease;
  
  
• a request that Congress identify a mechanism to assure that public health care facilities not cover by the OSHA Act -- such as hospitals, nursing home and Veterans Administration hospitals in certain states -- be required to comply with the provisions of an OSHA airborne transmissible disease standard; and
  
  
• a requirement that state and public health departments strengthen the worker health and safety elements of their state pandemic influenza plans.

McEntee praised President Obama’s quick response to the current flu outbreak, including the administration’s request for $1.5 billion in supplemental funding. “State and local governments are going to need funding to help them deal with this crisis, which comes at a time when health and public safety budgets are already being squeezed,” McEntee said.

The OCSEA / AFSCME PEOPLE program dollars are at work on issues like health and safety laws. PEOPLE is the union's political action committee fund that is used to make public employees' voices heard in the Statehouse and on Capitol Hill on other issues like budgets, collective bargaining, and more.

See Related

Ohio Department of Health - Ohio Swine Flu Info and what you can do to stay healthy.

How to move health and safety concerns forward at your workplace

OCSEA Education Fact Sheet - How to Make a Healthy and Safe Work Environment

More Union Resources

AFSCME Health & Safety Program

AFSCME members killed on the job - Ohio

Facts at Your Fingertips on Health and Safety (AFSCME Publication)

AFL-CIO Health & Safety - Worker Memorial Day