Certified Laundry Safety & Health Manager Course

The major source of injury to healthcare workers is musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). In 2010, nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants had the highest rates of MSDs, with 27,020 cases, equating to an incidence rate (IR) of 249 per 10,000 workers—more than seven times the average for all industries. That year, the average incidence rate for MSD cases with days away from work increased by 4 percent, while the MSD incidence rate for nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants increased by 10 percent.

Patient safety is another critical concern in healthcare. Hundreds of thousands of patients are harmed or die each year due to unsafe care or are inadvertently injured while seeking health services. Understanding the magnitude of this problem in hospitals and primary care facilities is the first step toward improving patient safety.