First responders and health care workers are on the front lines when it comes to taking care of those who are sick or hurt. That is especially true of the nation’s nurses, who are the ones who often administer the actual medical care that patients need to get healthy and resume normal lives. Avoiding workplace injuries is a critically important in the greater Milwaukee, Wisconsin, area where medical emergencies and a dense population put a high demand on local health care services.
There are a handful of special precautions nurses can take to protect themselves against possible injury and illness arising from the job. The most common precaution is to wash and scrub properly to ensure they kill any potential contagions and maintain sanitary conditions. To prevent physical injury, nurses need to lift properly when moving equipment or helping to move patients out of or into their beds. This will help avoid back injuries, pulled muscles, strains, and other painful conditions.
Nurses come into contact with people of all walks of life who may have been literally all around the world. It’s important for them to get regular flu vaccinations and immunizations to help build up natural immune defenses and stay healthy and on the job. During procedures, health care workers should handle needles with extreme care to prevent accidental injuries and exposure to potentially deadly or otherwise debilitating diseases.
When someone in the medical field becomes ill or otherwise suffers work-related injuries while performing their duties, Wisconsin workers’ compensation law provides coverage. Employers are responsible for providing reasonable workplace safety that limits the potential for suffering work-related injuries or illness, and when that doesn’t happen, a workers’ compensation lawyer might be able to help.