Hospital Employee Health – May 1, 2023

Virginia Removing Barriers for HCWs to Seek Counseling

Virginia is going “all in” statewide with an effort to improve and protect the mental and emotional well-being of healthcare workers by removing invasive questions in licensing reviews so they can seek counseling without fear of stigma and job loss.

Ensure Measles Immunity of Healthcare Workers

Waning immunization rates due to pandemic disruption of vaccine schedules and anti-vax misinformation has opened the door for a measles return in the United States, a highly infectious virus that once killed 500 kids a year.

Nurse Staffing Bill Stirs Support, Debate in OR

A controversial staffing bill for Oregon healthcare facilities has brought the dangers to staff and patients front and center in what appears to be becoming a national trend in nursing negotiations.

Healing Groups Bringing Happiness, Joy to Nurses

Support groups help nurses with occupational anxiety, strengthening mental health and offering ways to manage stress.

TB Rates Are Rising Again

In 2020, the TB rate dropped to 2.2, possibly because COVID-19 demanded public health resources that might have been used to detect it, and travel and immigration declined. After a small rebound in 2021, TB levels climbed to 2.5 cases per 1,000 people in 2022. There were more than 8,000 cases, and the CDC said TB was returning to pre-pandemic levels.

Pasadena Health Officer Mandates Booster for HCWs

The chief public health officer in Pasadena, CA, has issued an order for all healthcare workers in the city to receive the bivalent booster containing both the original strain of COVID-19 and two subvariants of omicron.