How healthy and safe is your workplace?

• Have you ever experienced a violent incident or assault at work?

• Is needed personal protective equipment (PPE) readily accessible?

• Is lift equipment for safe patient handling available on each acute care unit?

All nurses should work in a safe and healthy environment.

WSNA’s Health and Safety Survey is a critical first step in making your workplace safer and healthier. You know better than anyone whether your hospital is meeting the regulations that govern workplace health and safety.

Please take the time to complete our Workplace Health and Safety Survey so that we can get to work on addressing these issues in your hospital.

The sad truth is that nurses today face violence from patients, injure themselves when safe lifting equipment is not available, and may be exposed to harmful chemicals and bloodborne pathogens. Hospitals are required to follow numerous laws and regulations related to your health and safety in the workplace. The Health and Safety Survey assesses your employer’s compliance with these laws and regulations. WSNA wants to hear from you so that we can identify the most pressing problems and address them.

WSNA will use your responses to:

• Gather baseline information on the current status of employer compliance

• Inform WSNA on where to focus and prioritize our efforts

• Follow up on specific employers for further investigation

Please, complete the Workplace Health and Safety Survey today!

Because there are so many laws and regulations, it will take you about 10 minutes to complete the Health and Safety Survey. We urge you to take the time because your input is critical to making hospitals safer and healthier workplaces for you, the nurses.

We will share the survey results in an upcoming edition of The Washington Nurse.