Lake Zurich assisted living facility hit with 17 OSHA violations

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Updated: July 3, 2011 12:15AM

LAKE ZURICH — Paradise Park, an assisted living center, has been hit with more than a dozen safety and health violations after a nurse practitioner was injured in a needle stick incident last year.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the facility at 550 America Court with 17 violations, and it faces penalties totaling $72,000, according to Paradise Park officials.

The citations come after a nurse practitioner allegedly was injured in a November 2010 needle stick incident.

Some of the 12 serious health violations include failing to immediately test the blood of an individual involved in a needle stick incident; ensuring blood test results were communicated to the nurse practitioner; offering the hepatitis B vaccination to a caregiver with occupational exposure to blood within 10 working days of assignment; and training employees in the hazards of chemicals present in the workspace.

Paradise Park, which also has a facility in Fox Lake, has 15 business days to comply, request a conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent OSHA Review Commission.