Bill
SD 2294
Requires facilities to replace manual patient lifting with powered devices, plus needs assessments, ergonomic reviews, and a Safe Patient Handling committee to cut injuries.
Status: House concurred
Introduced: February 27, 2025
Committee: Public Health (referred on introduction); House concurrence completed
Purpose and intent
- Establish a comprehensive framework to reduce worker and patient injuries during lifting, transferring, and moving patients and equipment.
- Require health care facilities to replace manual patient handling with powered transfer devices and other ergonomic technologies, guided by formal needs assessments and patient-care ergonomic evaluations.
Key provisions
Definitions (Section 91D insertion)
- Department: Department of Public Health.
- Health care facility: Broadly includes hospitals (general acute care, teaching hospitals), rehabilitation and psychiatric facilities, nursing homes, and long-term care facilities (including four or more residents for nursing/convalescent care).
- 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 plan to replace manual lifting with powered devices and other equipment, tailored to individual patient needs and unit/area ergonomic recommendations. Must include patient handling assessments.
Core requirements
- Safe patient handling and mobility policy: Hospitals and other facilities must replace manual lifting/transferring with current patient-handling equipment (e.g., mechanical lifts, lateral transfer aids, friction-reducing devices, motorized beds) and perform individual patient handling assessments unless contraindicated.
- Needs assessment framework: Assess risks and resources for safe handling, including evaluating alternative methods and equipment.
- Patient care ergonomic evaluations: Mandatory evaluations in all direct-care areas, guided by VA’s Safe Patient Handling and Movement Resource Guide and OSHA guidelines (or other accepted guidance).
Safe Patient Handling Committee
- Within six months of enactment, each facility must establish a Safe Patient Handling and Mobility Committee (new or rechartered).
- Composition: At least half of the members must be non-managerial direct-care staff (nurses, CNAs, therapists, maintenance, infection control, etc.).
Adoption and implementation of a program
- By December 1, 2023 (as written in the bill), 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 risk for patients and direct caregivers.
- Minimize manual handling in all cases and restrict manual handling of most weight to emergencies.
- Include comprehensive risk analyses, evaluation of equipment and environments, and individual patient ergonomic evaluations.
Scope of facilities affected
- Hospitals licensed under relevant sections, UMass Medical School teaching hospital, general acute care facilities, rehabilitation and psychiatric facilities, nursing homes, and long-term care facilities (including entities advertising or maintaining care for four or more residents).
Implementation timeline and notes
- Six-month deadline to form the Safe Patient Handling Committee (from enactment).
- The bill text references a pre-existing deadline (December 1, 2023) for adoption/implementation of a program, which appears to be inconsistent with the 2025–2026 General Court timeline. This may indicate drafting or transitional text that requires clarification in the final enacted version.
Impact and implementation considerations
- Expected outcomes: Reduced risk of musculoskeletal injuries to patients and direct-care staff; standardized use of mechanical lifting and mobility devices; increased training and accountability through the new committee and formal policies.
- Practical considerations include equipment procurement, staff training, workflow integration, and ensuring ongoing compliance with the needs assessments and ergonomic evaluations.
Notes
- The provided text is truncated and may not include full scope, enforcement, funding, or penalty provisions. Final enacted text should be consulted for complete details.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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