Healthcare Accounts for Most Workplace Injuries Each Year

Healthcare is the country’s most dangerous occupation, resulting in more than $7 billion each year for back injuries alone. In 2010, the healthcare industry reported more than 650,000 workplace injuries and illnesses, which is 152,000 more than the second-most dangerous industry.

In 2011, nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants suffered musculoskeletal injuries seven times more than the national average. There is also the issue that 45 percent of workplace violence incidents resulting in missed workdays occur in the healthcare industry.

An analyst stated, “The patient and worker safety programs share a lot of the same characteristics. So if your environment is safer for your patients, it is inherently safer for your workers.”