Workers in nursing and residential care facilities experienced the highest injury rates of any occupational setting in 2010, according to data (pdf) recently released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Overall, the country’s private-industry employees suffered nonfatal injuries and illnesses at a rate of 3.5 cases per 100 full-time workers last year, down from 3.6 in 2009.
But private nursing and residential care facilities reported an injury/illness rate of 8.3 per 100 workers — higher than couriers and messengers (7.2), air-transportation employees (8.1), and people involved in performing arts, spectator sports, and related industries (6.7).
Combined, the health care and social assistance industry reported a higher injury/illness rate than any other private sector.
Public-Sector Injury Rate Even Higher
Nursing and residential care facility workers employed in the public sector suffered even higher injury rates than their private-industry counterparts, the BLS report additionally found.
The injury rate among nursing and residential care workers employed by local governments was 11.4 per 100 full-time employees. Those employed by state governments, meanwhile, recorded an injury rate of 15.1.
BLS reports a total of just 218,200 workers in public-sector nursing and residential care facilities, compared with more than 3.1 million such workers in the private sector.
Labor Secretary Expresses Concern
“We remain concerned that more workers are injured in the health care and social assistance industry sector than in any other, including construction and manufacturing,” said Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis in a statement.
“The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration will continue to work with employers, workers, and unions in this industry to reduce these risks,” Solis added.
Many of the people employed in the nursing and residential care industry are direct-care workers.
“Direct-care workers in nursing and residential care settings face a greater injury rate than nearly any other job type in the country,” said PHI Government Affairs Director Carol Regan.
“Unfortunately, more than one in four lack health insurance (pdf). It is wrong that direct-care workers who get sick or hurt while caring for others cannot get comprehensive care for their own injuries or illnesses,” Regan added.
In 2008, Regan appeared in a short video, “The Most Dangerous Job in America,” to highlight the inordinately high injury risks that nursing assistants face each day.
– by Matthew Ozga
