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Brace yourself for a tough flu season. Absenteeism could become an issue for many hospitals as unvaccinated employees with respiratory symptoms miss days of work.
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Federal enforcement of the annual fit-testing requirement has been halted for at least a year, as Congress intervened in the tuberculosis-related rule. Meanwhile, new draft federal TB guidelines leave some ambiguity by recommending periodic fit-testing, while acknowledging regulations that require annual fit-testing.
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Following the death of a Virginia hospital nurse from tuberculosis, an article in The Virginian-Pilot (Simpson E, Hardy K. Aug. 1, 2004) raised questions regarding the nurses case. Specifically, how could her illness have gone undetected in a hospital, and should anything be changed to keep such cases from occurring again?
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Never let up. That is what Greenville (SC) Hospital System learned about reducing sharps injuries in the operating room. It takes a sustained effort to keep rates down.
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An employee comes to employee health with blood pressure thats out of control. Another has diabetes and isnt good at managing her diet. Another has a headache from a sinus infection. Is that your problem?
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Hospitals soon will get a green light from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to install dispensers of alcohol-based hand rubs in hallways. Last year, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) amended its 2000 and 2003 Life Safety Code to allow the convenient use of dispensers and set criteria for their installation, but CMS rules still prohibited the use.
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In a bad-news year for influenza vaccination, public health authorities are glad for some good tidings: The flu season began slowly and the vaccine promised to be more effective than last years mismatched version.
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Enforcement related to ergonomic hazards remains light more than two years after the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) trained inspectors to recognize and document those hazards. More than 1,000 inspections of nursing homes generated only 10 citations related to ergonomics. They were among only 16 employers nationwide who received such citations.
