Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare (AOHP)
| Motto | "While you look after others, who looks after you? We do" |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1981 |
| Type | Professional Association |
| Headquarters | Warrendale, PA |
| Location | |
Membership | 1,000 |
Official language | English |
President | Mary Bliss |
| Website | AOHP |
The Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare is a professional association of health care wrokers, headquartered in Warrendale, PA.
History[edit]
Occupational safety and health needs of healthcare personnel (HCP) are similar in many respects to workers at large. However, HCP also face a unique set of hazards. In 1981, these unique hazards led to the founding of a local professional organization of employee health nurses in Northern California called the Association of Hospital Employee Health Professionals (AHEHP).(Healthcare facilities often call occupational health clinics employee health services). The goals of the organization were to advocate for HCP health and safety and create a professional network. Realizing that other occupational health professionals (OHP) in healthcare would benefit from the work of this local organization, AHEHP was incorporated and became a national non-profit organization in 1983.
During the early years of the Association, common occupational health functions were infectious disease surveillance such as Tuberculosis[1], immunization of HCP[2], injury prevention and management including workers’ compensation. In addition, there was an emerging infectious disease during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s that caused grave concern for HCP. This disease would become known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a bloodborne disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).[3] Occupational health professionals from various disciplines such as medicine, nursing and infection prevention and control were on the front lines of caring for HCP who experienced significant exposures to blood/body fluids that could lead to HIV infection.
On December 6, 1991, OSHA promulgated the Bloodborne Pathogen Standard (BBP) as a means to decrease the transmission of bloodborne diseases. This federal standard applied to all employers who had employees at risk of occupational exposure to blood/body fluids as part of their job duties and had extensive program requirements for employers. Without question the standard applied to the healthcare industry. The BBP Standard required employers with employees at risk of occupational exposure to blood/body fluids (BBF) to develop an exposure control plan that included a combination of engineering and work practice controls, personal protective equipment, personnel training, medical surveillance, hepatitis B vaccination, signs and labels, and other requirements.[4] To implement the standard requirements even more collaboration among occupational safety and health disciplines and organizational departments was required to provide optimum post exposure follow-up for employees who sustained significant exposures to blood/body fluids.
AHEHP Executive Board members recognized that implementing requirements of the BBP standard as well as other health and safety programs in healthcare facilities required ongoing interdisciplinary collaboration. The Executive Board envisioned that membership opportunities should be inclusive of all disciplines and in 1994, AHEHP membership voted to become the Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare (AOHP) to more accurately reflect this vision.
Healthcare Workplace Hazards[edit]
Workplace hazards in healthcare are numerous and varied both in type of hazard and the type of employee at risk. HCP continue to sustain significant exposures to BBF[5][6][7]. Other workplace hazards include safe patient handling[8][9][10][11] slip, trip, fall injuries[12], exposure to airborne transmissible diseases[13] workplace violence[14] and long work hours[5] to name a few.
Injury data from the 2016 United States Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that hospitals had nearly twice the injury rate of private industry, that is, 2.9 injuries per 100 full time workers and 5.9 injuries per 100 full time workers, respectively[15]. OHPs continue to collaborate with facility management, health and safety professionals and infection prevention and control experts to enhance healthcare’s safety culture recognizing that patient and worker safety go hand in hand. The nature of the work, taking care of patients, is the primary concern for care givers and leaders alike. Organizations that have a culture of employee safety as a priority demonstrate improved outcomes for both employees and patients.[16][13]
References[edit]
- ↑ "Tuberculosis in Healthcare Settings". cdc.gov. CDC. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
- ↑ "Healthcare Personnel Vaccination Recommendations" (PDF). immunize.org - Website for Healthcare Professionals. Immunization Action Coalition. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
- ↑ "Where did HIV come from?". theaidsinstitute.org. The AIDS Institute, USA. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
- ↑ "Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens; Needlesticks and other sharp injuries; Final Rule". osha.gov. OSHA. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Training for nurses on shift work and long work hours". cdc.gov. NIOSH. 1 May 2015. doi:10.26616/NIOSHPUB2015115.
- ↑ "Industry Injury and Illness Data". bls.gov. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- ↑ "Linking patient and worker safety". osha.gov. OSHA.
- ↑ Safe Patient Handling and Mobility: Interprofessional National Standards Across the Care Continuum. Silver Spring, MD: American Nurses Association. 2013. ISBN 9781558105195. Search this book on
- ↑ "Safe Patient Handling and Mobility". cdc.gov. OSHA. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
- ↑ "Safe Patient Handling - Worker Safety in Hospitals". osha.gov. OSHA.
- ↑ "Handle with Care". nursingworld.org. ANA.
- ↑ "Slip, trip, and fall prevention for healthcare workers" (PDF). NIOSH. 2010-12-01. doi:10.26616/NIOSHPUB2011123. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Improving Patient and Worker Safety". jointcommission.org. Joint Commission.
- ↑ "Preventing Workplace Violence in Healthcare". osha.gov. OSHA.
- ↑ "Industry Injury and Illness Data". bls.gov. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- ↑ "Safety Culture". osha.gov. OSHA.
External links[edit]
- Role in Healthcare on aohp.org
- Position Statements on aohp.org
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