The impact of OSHA regulations on nursing care cost and compliance.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires health care facilities to protect employees from bloodborne pathogens. One of the mandates is to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to employees at no cost to the employee. In this article, the authors explore the cost and compliance of implementing the new OSHA regulations for nursing staff assisting with colonoscopies over a 6-month period. The data were collected on a total of 461 procedures. The cost of implementing PPE for the nursing staff was $2.98 per procedure. The PPE available for the nursing staff included goggles, splash-proof gown, face mask, shoe covers, and latex gloves. The total cost of implementing the new regulations for the nursing staff assisting with colonoscopies was $2,747.56 and was projected to cost approximately $50,000 yearly if implemented for all GI procedures in the institution. Staff compliance rates for the five pieces of PPE ranged from 6.5 to 97.8%.