CDC Reports on Occupational Injuries in Healthcare, Makes Recommendations

In 2013, one in five reported nonfatal occupational injuries occurred among workers in the healthcare and social assistance industries, and in 2011, healthcare personnel experienced seven times more musculoskeletal disorders than all other private sector workers, states an article from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) April 24, 2015, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. According to data from CDC's Occupational Health Safety Network, which includes reports of injuries that occurred between January 1, 2012, and September 30, 2014, at 112 U.S. healthcare facilities, nurse assistants were more likely to sustain injuries than workers in any other job category. For patient handling and workplace violence injuries, nurse assistants had more than twice the injury rate of nurses.