ANGOR, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — Acadia Hospital in Bangor is under investigation by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services after an employee complained about workplace safety. OSHA started it’s investigation on July 26th, the licensing division of the Maine Department of Health and Human services plans to send a team to the Psychiatric hospital in the next few weeks.
“While OSHA is looking at workplace safety, our primary concern is patient safety,” said DHHS spokesman John Martins.
Shouldn’t workplace safety be equally as important as patient safety. Should a nurse, tech or direct care staff have to be fearful of injury?
OSHA would not discuss details about the complaint, but hospital officials say some employees have been injured in the past few months trying to restrain patients. An employee who spoke to NEWSCENTER on condition of anonymity blames the psychiatric hospitals recent policy change to eliminate the use of mechanical restraints. Employees are supposed to use only hand hold restraints, and to avoid even that at all costs.
Hospital officials on Tuesday defended that policy to move away from restraining patients, and say they believe the policy avoids more injures than it causes.
Translation: those who sit in the safety of their offices, and are not on the front lines with their own safety being threatened are creating policy. Let them first go on the front lines, and then let them make policy and then go back to the front lines and use the policy they enacted. Bet they’d change their tune when it’s their safety being threatened.
“Obviously, we’ve had some people get hurt,” said President and CEO David Proffit, “We are one hundred percent dedicated to have a injury free workplace, that no staff should come here and feel like they are going to get hurt or are subject to hurt or that they may be hurt.” we’re dedicated to this.
Proffit also added that he feels Acadia Hospital has the best front line staff of any psychiatric hospital in the northeast and believes most of the staff supports hospital policy. (Translation, those that call others for assistance when there is a crisis or behavior management issue like the policy. Those that are called for assistance whose safety is threatened do NOT like the policy.)
Tags: Arcadia hospital, MAINE, OSHA, psychiatric, workplace safety, workplace violence