New York Consolidated Laws, Public Health Law - PBH § 2997-h. Definitions

1. “Health care facility” shall mean general hospitals, residential health care facilities, diagnostic and treatment centers, and clinics licensed pursuant to article twenty-eight of this chapter, facilities which provide health care services and are licensed or operated pursuant to article eight of the education law, article nineteen-G of the executive law or the correction law, and hospitals and schools defined in section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law.

2. “Nurse” shall mean a registered professional nurse or a licensed practical nurse as defined by article one hundred thirty-nine of the education law.

3. “Direct care worker” shall mean any employee of a health care facility who is responsible for patient handling or patient assessment as a regular or incidental part of his or her employment, including any licensed or unlicensed health care worker.

4. “Employee representative” shall mean the recognized or certified collective bargaining agent for nurses or direct care workers of a health care facility.

5. “Safe patient handling” shall mean the use of engineering controls, lifting and transfer aids, or assistive devices by staff to perform the acts of lifting, transferring and repositioning health care patients and residents.

6. “Musculoskeletal disorders” shall mean conditions that involve the nerves, tendons, muscles and supporting structures of the body.