OSHA Announces Focused Inspections of Nursing Homes and Hospitals

Posted on March 10, 2022 by Jonathan Lips

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced an enforcement memorandum for a short-term increase in highly focused inspections directed at hospitals and skilled nursing care facilities that treat or handle COVID-19 patients.

OSHA’s goal is to ensure continued mitigation to control the spread of COVID-19 and future variants and protect the health and safety of healthcare workers at heightened risk for contracting the virus.

Between March 9 – June 9, OSHA will implement a focused enforcement initiative to verify and assess hospital and skilled nursing care employers' compliance actions taken, including their readiness to address any ongoing or future COVID-19 surges.

The enforcement memorandum outlines instructions and guidance for the short-term inspection initiative. This initiative supplements OSHA’s targeted enforcement under the COVID-19 National Emphasis Program (NEP) by focusing on follow-up and monitoring inspections of hospitals and skilled nursing care facilities that OSHA had previously inspected or investigated. 

We will contact Minnesota OSHA to request any additional details they can provide about implementing these focused inspections in our state provide additional information for members in the days ahead.