Occupational Safety and Health Administration Assignment, Research Paper Example

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was established under the Occupational Safety and Health Act signed by President Nixon in 1970. The Act was passed “to assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women; by authorizing enforcement of the standards developed under the Act” (Frequently Asked Questions, 2009). For this reason OSHA’s main role is to prevent work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths by issuing and enforcing standards for workplace safety and health. OSHA regulations cover employers “engaged in business affecting commerce who have employees”. Consequently, federal workers are exempted. Moreover, OSHA provisions do not apply to state and local government employees, but federal agencies are responsible for establishing their own provisions which are consistent with those of OSHA (Peterson, Cohen, 1995).

OSHA’s main priority is providing inspections in response to reports of imminent dangers-accidents about to happen, fatalities or accidents serious enough to send three or more employees to the hospital, employee complaints, referrals from other government agencies as well as incorporating targeted inspections-such as the Site Specific Targeting Program, which focuses on employers that report high injury and illness rates, and special emphasis programs that zero in on hazardous work such as trenching or equipment such as mechanical power presses. If the violations of OSHA standards are found, the employer may be faced with penalties which range from $0 to $70,000, depending upon how likely the violation is to result in serious harm to employees. Penalties may be discounted if an employer has a small number of employees, has demonstrated good faith, or has few or no previous violations. It is important to keep in mind that, apart from inspections, OSHA provides assistance in identifying and correcting hazards or setting up safety and health programs. OSHA also incorporates Alliance Program, Strategic Partnership Program and Voluntary Protection Programs with the purpose of acknowledging employers of workforce safety and health guidelines (Frequently Asked Questions, 2009).

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations was created in 1951 by the joined forces of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), the American College of Physicians (ACP), the American Hospital Association (AHA), the American Medical Association (AMA), and the Canadian Medical Association (CMA).  Back then it was the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAH), an independent, not-for-profit organization whose primary purpose was to provide voluntary accreditation (A Journey through the History of the Joint Commission, 2009). Nowadays the mission of JCAHO is “to continuously improve the safety and quality of care provided to the public through the provision of health care accreditation and related services that support performance improvement in health care organizations” (Zerwekh, Claborn, 2006).

The JCAHO is the prime accrediting body for health care institutions that are Medicare and Medicaid funded. This means that nearly all hospitals must be JCAHO-accredited in order to stay in business. In 2001 the Joint Commission started establishing annual National Patient Safety Goals, which are intended to improve quality of health care. These goals help accredited organizations address specific areas of concern regarding the patient safety. Each goal includes no more than two succinct, evidence-based and expert-based recommendations. Every year goals are being re-evaluated; some are taken out or being replaced with new emerging priorities. New goals are usually announced in July and become effective on January 1 the following year (Zerwekh, Claborn, 2006).

References

A Journey through the History of the Joint Commission. Retrieved on June 21, 2009 from http://www.jointcommission.org/AboutUs/joint_commission_history.htm.

Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved on June 21, 2009 from http://www.osha.gov/as/opa/osha-faq.html.

Peterson, R. D. and Cohen, J. M. (1995).Understanding OSHA. The Complete Guide to OSHA Compliance (pp. 1-8). CRC Press.

Zerwekh, J. G. and Claborn, J. C. (2006). Contemporary Nursing Practice. Nursing Today: Transition and Trends (6^th ed.). Elsevier Health Sciences.