Duluth Hospital Fined Thousands for OSHA Violations

A Duluth hospital was fined thousands of dollars following an April inspection by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration.

According to a Northern News Now report, the new Essentia Health St. Mary’s Medical Center received six serious violations during an inspection earlier this year. The inspection was conducted on April 11, and the fines were issued on July 30. The hospital was given until August 23 to fix the violations noted by the OSHA inspectors.

The heaviest fine of $6,300 was levied for failing to replace containers for contaminated sharp items. According to the citation, the containers in the 3rd Street Clinic’s lab and two restrooms were not replaced routinely and were allowed to be overfilled, causing a safety risk. Another $4,900 fine found that the healthcare organization did not have enough controls to minimize employee’s occupational exposure, such as tongs or forceps to prevent Environmental Services employees from suffering needlestick injuries.

Two other fines of $4,200 each were levied for the organization’s failure to properly provide employees with protective eye gear or suitable facilities for the quick flushing of hazardous materials from their eyes. The Duluth hospital allegedly did not provide safety goggles for employees working in urine collection and pouring corrosive chemicals like acetic and hydrochloric acid. Safety goggles were also allegedly not provided for maintenance employees who would unclog sinks with corrosive cleaning chemicals.

The other two fines were related to inadequate training for employees. According to the citations, the organization was fined $3,500 because they did not provide adequate bloodborne pathogen training to employees who could be exposed in the course of their duties. They were also fined $4,200 because their employee training did not include measures that employees could take to protect themselves from chemical hazards.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Essentia Health said the organization takes OSHA concerns very seriously and takes immediate action to resolve any issues.