October 13, 2010 Ms. Nancy Leppink Deputy Administrator Wage and Hour Division US Department of Labor Frances Perkins Building 200 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20210 Dear Ms. Leppink: We write today to express concern over an issue that has recently come to our attention. As you know, the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor recently published final rules stating employees aged 16 and 17 cannot use hoists, which the Department currently interprets as including mechanical patient lifts, though this was never the intended focus of the rulemaking effort related to occupations in construction. As representatives of Minnesota s education, industry and community health care providers, we are acutely aware that many of our partners in long term care and vocational training programs throughout Minnesota are being adversely affected by this rule. We strongly oppose the current interpretation of this rule. This rule interpretation has serious consequences for health care providers, higher education health career programs, employees and for the persons receiving care itself. The new standard of practice reducing the use of manual lifts and investing in mechanical lifts has been encouraged and applauded for workforce safety and quality of care reasons. Mechanical lifts are being encouraged by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. We have worked together for years to develop a variety of collaborative initiatives between health care providers and educational institutions focusing on career ladders and early entry into the health care professions at the high school level. We have been successful in establishing numerous collaborative arrangements involving high school students our future health care workforce. Many nursing homes team up with local high-school health career programs to initiate youth into health care careers, often keeping them employed through college and beyond.
Nursing Assistant curriculums continue to include training on the proper use of mechanical lifts to students of all ages. Further, staff is training on the specific lifts used when hired by a health care provider. Staff using or assisting with lifts, regardless of age, are trained by facilities on the safe and proper operation of patient lifts. The prohibition of 16-17 year old staff to use patient lifts will significantly affect staffing in many facilities, particularly those in rural areas. If 16-17 year old staff is not permitted to use or assist with patient lifts, it will significantly increase the waiting time for residents desiring or needing to be transferred in some facilities. We therefore ask that you and the staff of the Wage and Hour Division please review this rule and its interpretation and either reverse the ruling or provide an exemption as it relates to 16 and 17 year old care providers using hoists in health care settings. Thank you for your attention to this request. We look forward to hearing from and working with you on this issue and stand ready to answer any specific questions you and the Department may have on the unintended but adverse affects the rule is having on our state. Sincerely, Valerie DeFor of Statewide Healthcare Education Industry Partnerships Jane Foote, Executive Laura Beeth System, Talent Acquisition Fairview Health Services Daniel Olson Education Coordinator Children s Hospital & Clinics
Susan Speetzen Healthcare Industry Specialist MN Department of Employment and Economic Development Robert Musgrove President Pine Technical SIGNATURES ATTACHED Marilyn Swan, MSN, RN South Central Lori Steffen, MSN, RN Dean of Nursing Patricia Gonzales, MS, RN Normandale Community Mary Schmid, MSN, MBA, RN Cheryl L. Pratt, MA, RN of Practical Nursing Programs Laurie Hendrickson, RN, BS Dean of Nursing Sue Aldrich, RN Practical Nursing Program Itasca Community Larae Ziegelman, RN Practical Nursing Program Alexandria Technical and Community Marilyn Krasowski, MSN, RN Dean, Health and Service Programs Saint Paul Danyel Helgeson, MS, RN Nursing Program Riverland Community Lynn Johnson, MSN, RN Ridgewater Angela Rogers, RN Practical Nursing Program Mesabi Range Community and Technical Judy A. Junker, RN Rainy River Community Connie J. Frisch, RN Programs Central Lakes Krista Hoekstra, MA, RN Pine Technical Bonnie Watts, MS, RN Interim Nursing Programs Minneapolis Community and Technical
Susan Field, DNP, RN of AS Nursing Northland Community and Technical Dianne Jensen, RN Practical Nursing Anoka Technical Kathy Burlingame, MSN, RN Interim Dean of Nursing Minnesota State Community and Technical Barb Forrest, MS, RN Practical Nursing Northland Community and Technical Margaret M. Kotek, MS, RN Associate Dean of Nursing North Hennepin Community Laura Senn, MS, RN Practical Nursing Dakota County Technical Dawn M. Gordon, MS, MBA, RN Minnesota West Community and Technical Dorinda Sorvig, MS, RN Practical Nursing Northland Community and Technical Rhonda Bender, RN, MS, FNP-BC Northwest Technical Lorrie Fox, MPH, RN Interim Lake Superior Mary Monson Nursing Program Fond du Lac Tribal and Community Kerry Keenan, RN, MA Century Doris Hill, PhD, RN, CNOR Dean of Allied Health and Inver Hills Community Diane Gold, MS, RN Lee Ann Gersmeyer, RN, MA