Region 6 News Release: 13-1695-DAL
Aug. 19, 2013
Contact: Diana Petterson Juan Rodriguez
Phone: 972-850-4710 972-850-4709
Email: petterson.diana@dol.gov rodriguez.juan@dol.gov

Dallas area senior living center cited by US Department of Labor's OSHA
for exposing workers to multiple safety violations
Williamsburg Village Healthcare Campus fined $46,000 for seven serious violations

DALLAS – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Williamsburg Village Healthcare Campus, a senior living center in DeSoto, Texas, for seven serious safety violations and proposed penalties totaling $46,000. A variety of safety hazards were found at the campus' York Drive facility during a programmed inspection begun on June 6 conducted under OSHA's national emphasis program for nursing and residential care facilities.

"Healthcare workers perform an important service and should be protected from preventable injuries while caring for others," said Stephen Boyd, OSHA's area director in Dallas. "It is the employer's responsibility to provide a safe and healthy workplace for its workers, and OSHA will hold employers accountable."

The seven serious violations cited involve the company's failure to assess if workplace hazards were present or likely to be present; ensure that each affected worker uses appropriate eye or face protection; ensure that energy control programs consist of appropriate procedures, training and periodic inspections; provide suitable facilities for quick drenching or flushing of the eyes and body; provide a written exposure control plan designed to eliminate or minimize exposure to hazards; train and provide workers with information on hazardous chemicals in the workplace; and ensure that a written schedule for cleaning and method of decontamination is based upon the location within the facility and type of surface to be cleaned. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

OSHA's national emphasis program is focused on protecting workers from serious safety and health hazards that are common in medical industries. Through this program, OSHA is targeting nursing homes and residential care facilities to reduce occupational illnesses and injuries from exposure to blood and other potentially infectious material; exposure to hazardous chemicals; slips, trips and falls; communicable diseases; ergonomic stressors; and workplace violence. Detailed information on health care industry hazards and safeguards is available at https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/nursinghome/index.html.

Williamsburg Village has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's Dallas area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Dallas office at 214-320-2400.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

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U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The information above is available in large print, Braille or CD from the COAST office upon request by calling 292-693-7828 or TTY 292-693-7755.