According to the OSHA.gov website 253,700 work-related injuries and illnesses took place in U.S. hospitals in 2011. This ranks hospitals as one of the most hazardous places to work with an work-related injury and illness rate that is almost twice as high as private industry as a whole.

Some of the dangers that hospital workers encounter are moving patients, workplace violence, exposure to hazardous chemicals, exposure to contagious diseases, needle sticks among others.

In order to aid this high risk industry, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration launched a new website chock full of workplace safety information and materials to help prevent worker injuries. Not only does the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration hope to protect workers with this information, but they propose that making this data readily available to the industry will help improve patient safety.

Overall the osha.gov website is ripe with information on workplace safety and health.  You can keep up to date with all the latest news, data and statistics, as well as download helpful safety guides, fact books and assessment guides. One of my favorite is the Job Hazard Analysis  publication which can be found here.