Three nursing homes in Ohio received a subpoena from the US labor agency in charge of enforcing safe working conditions after it said the facility had “serious” violations of its coronavirus protections.
It is just the second appointment that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) gave during the coronavirus pandemic.
OSHA issued citations Tuesday against Pebble Creek Health Care Center in Akron, Salem West Healthcare Center and Salem North Health Care Center, all under the umbrella company CommuniCare.
They were in “serious” violation of two respiratory protection standards, according to OSHA. The fine was $ 40,482.
Nursing homes were unable to develop a written respiratory protection program, which would include information on specific workplace procedures, program evaluation, inspection and more to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the agency said.
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The National Guard is working statewide with health departments and nursing homes to conduct test sites in Ohio. (Joshua Morrison / Mount Vernon News via AP)
OSHA also said that households did not provide evaluations to determine the ability of employees to wear a respirator.
“The OSHA investigation found that although the company was making efforts to protect its employees from the coronavirus, it had not fully implemented an appropriate respiratory protection program,” said OSHA Cleveland Area Office Director Howard Eberts in a Press release. “Employers are and will continue to be responsible for providing a workplace free of recognized serious hazards.”
OSHA issued a Hazard Alert regarding the company’s practice of allowing N95 respirators to be used for up to seven days. The houses were fined more than $ 40,000.
Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia speaks during a briefing of the White House Coronavirus Task Force at the Department of Education building on July 8 in Washington. (AP Photo / Manuel Balce Ceneta)
The agency initially investigated nursing homes after they reported that seven of its employees had tested positive for the coronavirus.
OSHA has come under repeated criticism for not doing enough to respond to workers’ complaints about inadequate safety measures, including in health centers, supermarkets, and meat packing plants.
The only other subpoena the agency issued during the pandemic was at a Georgia nursing home after it failed to report that six of its employees had the coronavirus, Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia told lawmakers in May.
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OSHA has received more than 6,000 complaints nationwide about unsafe working conditions related to COVID-19, according to reports from the Tampa Bay Times. More than half of those complaints come from the health care industry.
