Healthcare workplaces can present a wide range of occupational hazards, including exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials, respiratory illnesses, hazardous chemicals and drugs, sharps, patient-handling injuries, workplace violence, medical gases, radiation, slips and falls, and emergency situations.
Our Healthcare Safety Manuals can be customized around the services provided, facility, equipment, employee exposures, and workplace hazards of the organization. Select your type of healthcare operation below to learn more about safety manuals developed for different healthcare workplaces.
Hospitals &
Surgical Facilities
Hospitals and surgical facilities can involve patient care, bloodborne pathogens, infectious diseases, hazardous drugs and chemicals, medical gases, radiation, sharps, patient handling, emergency response, workplace violence, and other facility-related hazards.
Medical Offices &
Outpatient Care
Medical offices and outpatient facilities may involve bloodborne pathogens, infectious diseases, sharps, hazardous chemicals, patient handling, PPE, ergonomics, emergency response, workplace violence, and other hazards associated with patient care and medical services.
Dental Practices
Dental practices may involve bloodborne pathogens, infectious diseases, sharps, chemicals, disinfectants and sterilants, compressed gases, radiation, ergonomic hazards, PPE, emergency response, and other hazards associated with patient care and dental procedures.
Nursing, Assisted Living
& Residential Care
Residential healthcare facilities may involve patient or resident handling, bloodborne pathogens, infectious diseases, workplace violence, slips and falls, chemicals, laundry and linen handling, ergonomics, emergency response, and other hazards associated with resident care.
Home Healthcare
& Hospice
Home healthcare and hospice employees may encounter patient-handling hazards, bloodborne pathogens, infectious diseases, sharps, driving hazards, animals, workplace violence, working alone, emergency situations, and other hazards associated with providing care in homes and community settings.
Veterinary Care
Veterinary practices may involve animal bites and scratches, zoonotic diseases, sharps, anesthetic gases, hazardous medications and chemicals, radiation, animal handling and lifting, biological materials, PPE, emergency response, and other occupational hazards.
Common Healthcare Safety Programs
The safety programs needed by a healthcare organization depend on the services provided, facility, equipment, chemicals, medications, patient-care activities, and employee exposures. Common programs may include:
- Aerosol Transmissible Diseases
- Bloodborne Pathogens
- Chemical Handling Safety
- Compressed Gas Cylinder Safety
- Emergency Action Plan
- Emergency Eyewash and Shower Safety
- Ergonomics
- Exposure Control Plan
- Fire Prevention
- Hazard Communication
- Hazardous Drug Handling
- Healthcare Worker Safety
- Infection Exposure Prevention
- Ionizing Radiation Safety
- Job Safety Analysis (JSA)
- Medical Gas Safety
- Needlestick Prevention
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
- Respiratory Protection
- Safe Patient Handling
- Safety Audits and Inspections
- Sharps Safety
- Slips, Trips and Falls
- Tuberculosis Exposure Control
- Walking-Working Surfaces
- Workplace Security
- Workplace Violence Prevention
Additional programs can be included for specialized processes, chemicals, machinery, equipment, and employee exposures.
Customized Healthcare Safety Manuals
Two healthcare organizations providing similar services may still have very different workplace safety needs. Differences in patient populations, procedures, equipment, medications, chemicals, facility design, employee responsibilities, and occupational exposures can affect which safety programs should be included.
A customized Healthcare Safety Manual can be assembled around the programs applicable to your organization rather than relying on a generic collection of policies that may not reflect your actual operations.