§ 2997-k. Safe patient handling committees; programs. 1. On or before January first, two thousand sixteen, each health care facility shall establish a safe patient handling committee (referred to in this section as a "committee" except where the context clearly requires otherwise) either by creating a new committee or assigning the functions of a safe patient handling committee to an existing committee, including but not limited to a safety committee or quality assurance committee, or subcommittee thereof. The purpose of a committee is to design and recommend the process for implementing a safe patient handling program for the health care facility. The committee shall include individuals with expertise or experience that is relevant to safe patient handling, including risk management, nursing, purchasing, or occupational safety and health, and in facilities where there are employee representatives, at least one shall be appointed on behalf of nurses and at least one shall be appointed on behalf of direct care workers. One half of the members of the committee shall be frontline non-managerial employees who provide direct care to patients. At least one non-managerial nurse and one non-managerial direct care worker shall be on the safe patient handling committee. In health care facilities where a resident council is established, and where feasible, at least one member of the safe patient handling committee shall be a representative from the resident council. The committee shall have two co-chairs with one from management and one frontline non-managerial nurse or direct care worker. 2. On or before January first, two thousand seventeen, each health care facility, in consultation with the committee, shall establish a safe patient handling program. As part of this program, a health care facility shall:

(a) implement a safe patient handling policy, considering the elements of the sample safe patient handling policies and best practices disseminated by the commissioner, as well as the type of facility and its services, patient populations and care plans, types of caregivers, and physical environment, for all shifts and units of the health care facility. Implementation of the safe patient handling policy may be phased-in;

(b) conduct a patient handling hazard assessment. This assessment should consider such variables as patient-handling tasks, types of nursing units, patient populations and the physical environment of patient care areas;

(c) develop a process to identify the appropriate use of the safe patient handling policy based on the patient's physical and medical condition and the availability of safe patient handling equipment. The policy shall include a means to address circumstances under which it would be contraindicated based on a patient's physical, medical, weight-bearing, cognitive and/or rehabilitative status to use lifting or transfer aids or assistive devices for particular patients;

(d) provide initial and on-going yearly training and education on safe patient handling for current employees and new hires, and establish procedures to ensure that retraining for those found to be deficient is provided as needed;

(e) set up and utilize a process for incident investigation and post-investigation review which may include a plan of correction and implementation of controls;

(f) conduct an annual performance evaluation of the program to determine its effectiveness, with the results of the evaluation reported to the committee. The evaluation shall determine the extent to which implementation of the program has resulted in a reduction in the risk of injury to patients, musculoskeletal disorder claims and days of lost work attributable to musculoskeletal disorders by employees caused by patient handling, and include recommendations to increase the program's effectiveness;

(g) when developing architectural plans for constructing or remodeling a health care facility or a unit of a health care facility in which patient handling and movement occurs, consider the feasibility of incorporating patient handling equipment or the physical space and construction design needed to incorporate that equipment at a later date; and

(h) develop a process by which employees may refuse to perform or be involved in patient handling or movement that the employee reasonably believes in good faith will expose a patient or health care facility employee to an unacceptable risk of injury. Such process shall require that the nurse or direct care worker make a good faith effort to ensure patient safety and bring the matter to the attention of the facility in a timely manner. A health care facility employee who reasonably and in good faith follows the process developed by the health care facility in accordance with this subdivision shall not be the subject of disciplinary action by the health care facility for the refusal to perform or be involved in the patient handling or movement.