Hospital Employee Health – September 1, 2003

September 1, 2003

• Employee health pushes OSHA for standard on biologic hazards

  The struggle with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and confusion over how to adequately protect health care workers has led some employee health professionals to call for a new U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard on biological hazards.

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• Are you ready for the return of SARS?

  If severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) returns this fall, is your hospital prepared? A lull in SARS activity is giving hospitals vital time to plan for a possible reemergence of the disease, which public health authorities say could occur this fall or winter.

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• Don’t ask staff to call in sick: Have them call the ‘sick line’

  Calling in sick has an extra meaning at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse, WI.

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• Final word: You don’t need to record MSDs

  Employers will not need to record work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in a distinct column on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 300 log, the agency announced.

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• HCWs have high rates of work-related asthma

  Health care workers continue to have among the highest rates of work-related asthma, according to a recent report from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

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• Prevent accidents from happening again

  What could have been done to prevent this accident? Thats a standard question posed after an employee suffers an injury. But at the 35 hospitals of the Palmetto Hospital Trust (PHT) in Columbia, SC, workers compensation self-insurance program, theres a new focus on finding the answer the root cause of serious accidents.

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• Injuries: Repositioning is a major culprit

  If your ergonomics program focuses only on patient lifts, youre missing the greatest cause of patient-handling injuries, according to a recent study.

  Read more about Injuries: Repositioning is a major culprit - Hospital Employee Health – September 1, 2003

• Conference targets advanced practice EH

  Experienced employee health nurses and occupational medicine physicians will have a new program tailored to their needs at the upcoming annual conference of the Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare (AOHP). The conference will be held Oct. 8-11 in San Diego.

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• NAPPSI campaign targets catheter securement

  In a campaign to reduce sharps injuries from sutures, the National Alliance for the Primary Prevention of Sharps Injuries (NAPPSI) in Carlsbad, CA, is conducting an on-line survey of interns and residents to determine their experience with the devices.

  Read more about NAPPSI campaign targets catheter securement - Hospital Employee Health – September 1, 2003

• Bioterrorism Watch Supplement

  Read more about Bioterrorism Watch Supplement - Hospital Employee Health – September 1, 2003