PARIS – A health care center has been accepted into a program by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for the second time.

Market Square Health Care Center was honored Wednesday with recognition into the organization’s Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program. The center, part of Western Maine Health, also received the recognition in 2005.

Philip DuBois, administrator of the center, said acceptance comes after a complete inspection of the facility and a review of the results by state, regional and federal OSHA offices. The recognition exempts the health care center from OSHA inspections for the next two years.

DuBois said health care workers are vulnerable to injuries from lifting patients as well as combative residents or domestic violence extending to the facility. He said the program was started after two incidents at the facility involving domestic violence and a serious injury.

During a presentation to employees, DuBois said the center improved its focus on safety through the purchase of newer equipment, employee education, and a “complete overhaul” of the center’s safety committee.

“Sometimes the simplest actions can carry the most weight,” DuBois said.

DuBois said his presentation was identical to one he gave at a national conference of OSHA inspectors in Rhode Island.

DuBois also received the same program recognition while working at Borderview Rehab and Living Center in Van Buren. On Wednesday, he was given a leadership award for his role in SHARP Maine, a statewide organization of businesses accepted into the program.

“This nursing home’s fantastic,” said David Wacker, director of the workplace safety and health division of the Maine Department of Labor. “There’s not another nursing home that I’d want to be in.”

Wacker said that Market Square Health Care Center is the only business in Oxford County with SHARP recognition. However, the Paris Fire Department received a similar honor in April, when the Maine Department of Labor gave it the Safety and Health Award for Public Employers.