Swanson's AB 1136 Signed by Governor Brown Today
(SACRAMENTO, CA) - Today, Governor Brown signed the Hospital Patient and Health Care Worker Injury Protection Act. The Act, which is authored by Assemblymember Sandré R. Swanson (D-Alameda), is being called a "triple win" victory by advocates in that it protects patients, nurses, and saves hospitals money.
Studies show that each time a Registered Nurse (RN) lifts a patient, that RN has a 75 percent chance of injuring his or her back. "Many of those nurses - as many as 83 percent - work in spite of serious back pain," explained Swanson. "But when RNs leave the job because the pain becomes unbearable, their employers spend between $40,000 and $60,000 training and orienting replacements, causing a huge strain on hospital budgets."
AB 1136 requires general acute care hospitals to establish safe patient handling policies for patient care units and maintain trained lift teams comprised of staff that is specifically trained to handle patient lifts, repositionings, and transfers. The bill protects workers from disciplinary action if safety concerns cause them to refuse to lift, reposition, or transfer a patient without a lift team. Importantly, AB 1136 also provides hospitals with flexibility to establish safe patient policies reflective of their unique needs and allows hospitals to train existing staff as lift team members to avoid the cost of hiring new employees.
The bill's signing is a very personal victory for Assemblymember Swanson. As Chair of the Labor and Employment Committee, he is well aware of the job safety issues facing Californians working class, including job safety. And even more significantly, Swanson was compelled to introduce the bill because his mother spent her entire career as a nurse, retiring partly due to severe back pain.
Stephanie Roberson, Chief Government Relations Advocate for the California Nurses Association, explained the need for the bill. "Over 12 percent of the nursing workforce leaves the occupation each year due to back injuries. California's nursing workforce is aging at the same time patient acuity and obesity is rising. It is imperative that we protect our registered nurses and other health care workers from injury, and provide patients with safe and appropriate care."
Swanson concluded, "Nurses are essential to our health care system and it is important that we have proper safety measures in place to protect them from career-ending injuries. AB 1136 will decrease the rate of injuries for nurses and other health care workers and improve patient safety. I am pleased that our Governor recognized that the bill preserves quality care for patients, strengthens the nursing workforce, and protects hospital budgets."
CONTACT: Amy Alley, Deputy Legislative & Communications Director (916-319-2016)
