The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) play a key role in ensuring the safety of patients and workers. This paper will describe the history and role of each organization. OSHA was formed in 1971 to "ensure employee safety and health in the United States by working with employers and employees to create better working environments" ("OSHA Facts," 2007). OSHA has been effective in cutting workplace fatalities over 60% and illnesses by 40% despite an increase of 56 million employees in the workforce ("OSHA Facts," 2007). OSHA focuses on three strategies-"1) strong, fair and effective enforcement; 2) outreach, education and compliance assistance; and 3) partnerships and cooperative programs" ("OSHA Facts," 2007). OSHA reduces workplace injuries and illnesses by providing preventive guidelines, publications, free workplace consultations, and cooperative programs ("OHSA Facts," 2007).
The JCAHO began in 1910, when Ernest Codman, a doctor, proposed a system by which hospitals would track patients to find whether treatment provided had been effective, an approach that he termed the "end result system of hospital standardization" ("About Us," 2008). When treatment was ineffective, the hospital would "attempt to determine why, so that similar cases could be treated successfully in the future" ("About Us," 2008
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