Hospital Employee Health – April 1, 2003
April 1, 2003
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So far, so good: As vaccinations begin, few serious smallpox reactions emerge
Screening adds safety to smallpox vaccination. Despite widespread fears about the smallpox vaccine, there were few serious adverse reactions and no known spread to contacts in the first month of the vaccination program. -
Adverse Events
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that these adverse events after smallpox vaccination be reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting Systems and to state health departments. -
Is it a vaccine reaction? CDC offers guidance
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an adverse event can be causally attributed to vaccine more readily if one of the following is true. -
Terror alert: Are you ready for any possibility?
How ready are hospitals to respond to an act of terrorism that results in contaminated patients and mass casualties? Preparedness experts worry that the smallpox vaccination program may be diverting resources from other types of emergency capability. -
In push for safer gloves, ‘we have a long way to go’
When Lise Borel, DMD, developed symptoms of a severe latex allergy in 1994, she was barely aware of the risks associated with the gloves and powder. Today, thanks in part to her advocacy efforts through the organization, ELASTIC of Torrington, CT, latex allergy is widely recognized as a major occupational health hazard for health care workers. -
More hospitals seek to be ‘magnets’ for nurses
Hospitals that give more autonomy to nurses and have less hierarchy qualities that gained them designation by the Magnet Recognition Program of the American Nurses Credentialing Center in Washington, DC have lower levels of emotional exhaustion and burnout, lower rates of needlestick injuries, higher job satisfaction, and better retention and recruitment of nurses, according to several recent studies. -
‘Forces of Magnetism’: Qualities of Magnet Hospitals
The following 14 characteristics have been identified as key elements of magnet hospitals. -
Smallpox vaccination: Is your plan in place?
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Directed Self-Decontamination
You have been or possibly been exposed to a hazardous substance. For your own health and safety as well as others, you must be thoroughly cleaned before we can safely treat you.