by
on November 01, 2023
The New York State Safe Patient Handling (SPH) law, or the zero-lift law, was passed in 2014 and is meant to reduce injuries to health care providers and patients that occur when providers lift, reposition and move patients. By properly utilizing assistive lift/transfer devices, providers can work toward accomplishing this goal while helping ensure comfort and safety for themselves and their patients.
This Risk Insights contains more information on the SPH law.
The New York state SPH law defines SPH as “the use of engineering controls, lifting and transfer aids or assistive devices by staff to perform the acts of lifting, transferring and repositioning health care patients and residents.” The law mandates that health care facilities have labor-management SPH committees and SPH policies.
SPH committees must consist of employees from various departments (e.g., senior leadership, risk management, providers, housekeeping and HR) who have relevant SPH knowledge or experience. At least half of the committee must be frontline nonmanagerial employees who provide direct care, including at least one nonmanagerial nurse and one nonmanagerial direct care worker. One of the two SPH committee co-chairs must be from management and one must be a frontline nonmanagerial nurse or direct care worker.
Additionally, in facilities that have employee representatives, at least one SPH committee member must be appointed on behalf of nurses and at least one must be appointed on behalf of direct care workers. For facilities with a resident council, at least one member of the SPH committee must be a representative from the resident council when feasible.
The committee is tasked with designing, recommending and implementing an SPH program. The program must be facility-specific and include or address the following:
The law applies to several types of facilities licensed under Article 28 of New York’s Public Health Law, including:
It also applies to other facilities, including the following:
By following the New York state SPH law and facilities’ SPH programs, health care employees in New York are better positioned to make the movement of patients safer. In addition, the law helps health care employers:
Increase the quality of care.
For more information on the SPH law, contact us today.
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