Bill
HD 2274
Requires health facilities to replace manual patient lifting with powered devices, backed by ergonomic evaluations and a staff-led Safe Patient Handling Committee to cut injuries.
An Act relative to safe patient handling and mobility in certain health facilities
Status: Introduced (as of the provided materials, filed January 15, 2025; pending further action)
Purpose
- The bill seeks to reduce and ultimately eliminate manual lifting and moving of patients and related equipment from normal patient-care practices in many health facilities. It requires facilities to replace manual handling with powered transfer devices and other ergonomically appropriate equipment, guided by formal needs assessments and patient-care ergonomic evaluations. The goal is to decrease injuries to both patients and direct-care staff while maintaining safe and effective patient mobility.
Key Provisions (highlights)
- Insertion of Section 91D into Chapter 111 of the General Laws, defining core terms:
- Department: Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
- Health care facility: includes hospitals licensed under sections 51 and 52 (and the UMass teaching hospital), general acute care hospitals, long-term care facilities, nursing homes, and similar institutions that care for four or more residents.
- Direct caregiver: staff or lift-team members who lift, transfer, or reposition patients or equipment.
- Lifting and transferring process; needs assessment; patient care ergonomic evaluation; qualified personnel; resident.
- Safe patient handling and mobility policy: a written policy mandating replacement of manual lifting/transfer with current patient-handling equipment and procedures, and requiring individual patient handling assessments.
- Safe patient handling program requirements:
- A health care facility must replace manual lifting and transferring with powered transfer devices and other equipment, unless contraindicated by a patient’s medical status.
- Policies must be developed in alignment with clinical unit/area ergonomic evaluations.
- Each patient requiring assistance must receive an individual handling assessment.
- Committee and governance:
- Within six months of enactment, each facility must establish a Safe Patient Handling and Mobility Committee (new or re-assigned to an existing committee).
- At least half of committee members must be non-managerial direct-care staff (e.g., nurses, certified nursing assistants, physical/occupational therapists, maintenance, infection control, etc.).
- Implementation timelines:
- By December 1, 2025, the governing body of a hospital or the quality assurance committee of a nursing home must adopt and ensure implementation of a Safe Patient Handling and Mobility Program.
- The program must identify, assess, and develop strategies to control injury risks associated with lifting, transferring, repositioning, or moving patients or equipment; manual handling should be minimized and eliminated when feasible; manual handling restricted to emergency, life-threatening, or other exception circumstances.
- Required analyses and evaluations (as part of the program):
- Comprehensive risk analysis of injuries to patients and direct-care staff from patient handling needs and the facility’s physical environment.
- Evaluation of alternative risk-reduction approaches, including equipment and environment changes.
- Individual patient care ergonomic evaluations in all direct care areas, following recognized guidance (e.g., VA Patient Care Ergonomics Resource Guide, OSHA nursing-home ergonomics guidelines, or other accepted guidance).
Who Would Be Affected
- Hospitals (licensed under sections 51 and 52) and the teaching hospital of the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
- General acute care hospitals, rehabilitation units, psychiatric facilities, nursing homes, and long-term care facilities (including any institution serving four or more residents for nursing or convalescent care).
- Direct-care staff and lift-team members, and facility leadership responsible for patient safety and compliance.
Procedural/Timeline Considerations
- Six-month implementation window for establishing the Safe Patient Handling and Mobility Committee.
- By December 1, 2025: adoption and implementation of the program by the facility’s governing body or quality assurance committee.
- Ongoing requirements include conducting risk assessments, evaluating equipment and environments, and performing patient-specific ergonomic evaluations, with policies mandating the use of appropriate equipment for patient handling.
Impact and Notes
- The bill creates a regulatory framework to systematically reduce manual patient handling across a broad range of health-care settings.
- It emphasizes staff-inclusive governance, explicit ergonomic assessments, and the use of powered equipment to prevent injuries.
- Some provisions rely on future regulations and guidance (e.g., adherence to VA/OSHA guidelines and associated ergonomic resources).
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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