BILL NUMBER: AB 1136	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Swanson

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2011

   An act to add Section 6403.5 to the Labor Code, relating to
employment safety.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1136, as introduced, Swanson. Employment safety: health
facilities.
   Existing law regulates the operation of health facilities.
   Existing law, the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of
1973, establishes certain safety and other responsibilities of
employers and employees, including the requirement that employers
provide safety devices or safeguards reasonably necessary to render
the employment safe.
   This bill would require an employer to have a zero lift/safe
patient handling policy for patient care units, and to provide
trained lift teams or staff trained in safe lifting techniques in
each general acute care hospital. The policy would require the
replacement of manual lifting and transferring of patients with
powered patient transfer devices, lifting devices, or lift teams, as
specified.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 6403.5 is added to the Labor Code, to read:
   6403.5.  (a) An employer shall maintain a zero lift/safe patient
handling policy at all times for all patient care units, and shall
provide trained lift teams or other support staff trained in safe
lifting techniques in each general acute care hospital. The employer
shall provide training to health care workers on appropriate use of
lifting devices and equipment, body mechanics, and the use of lifting
devices to handle patients safely.
   (b) As the coordinator of care, the registered nurse shall be
responsible for the observation and direction of patient lifts and
mobilization, and shall participate as needed in patient handling in
accord with the nurse's job description.
   (c)  For the purposes of this chapter, "zero lift/safe patient
handling policy" means a policy that requires replacement of manual
lifting and transferring of patients with powered patient transfer
devices, lifting devices, or lift teams, consistent with the employer'
s safety policies and the professional judgment and clinical
assessment of the registered nurse.