The Colorado Health Care Association, a nursing home group, became the first long-term care advocacy group to have an ambassador-level alliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The alliance will provide long-term care workers in Colorado with information and training resources with an emphasis on common hazards in the healthcare industry and whistleblower protection laws, according to a March 23 OSHA release.
"OSHA and the Colorado Health Care Association join in the commitment to protect nursing home and assisted living care workers in Colorado from serious hazards encountered in this industry so they can go home safely every day," OSHA Regional Administrator Jennifer Rous, DrPH, said in the release.
Doug Farmer, president and CEO of the Colorado Health Care Association, told McKnights Long-Term Care News the association is "uniquely suited to help get those messages out to long-term care providers. We are also able to share information with OSHA from the perspective of our provider members that may influence how OSHA interacts with long-term care."