Hospital Employee Health – July 1, 2013
July 1, 2013
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Ghost of SARS: Emerging MERS-CoV poses infection threat to HCWs
An emerging SARS-like novel coronavirus may pose a particular threat for hospital outbreaks that could spread infections to both patients and health care workers. -
Caring for caregivers after Boston bombing
When two bombs went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, hospital clinicians had one thought: I have to get to work. A surgeon who had just run 26 miles came into Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and prepared to operate. Nurses and doctors treating the wounded wondered about their own family and friends. -
Budget cuts threaten NIOSH research centers
The budget impasse plaguing Washington may actually save the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) from some deep cuts. -
CDC to Baby Boomers: Get an HCV test
The message from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on testing for hepatitis C is unequivocal. In the words of director Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH: Baby boomers may not remember everything we did in the 60s or 70s, but our liver does. -
Strategies to cope with PPD shortage
A shortage of a major TB skin-testing product forced some hospitals to alter their health care worker screening programs, but it also demonstrated the ability of employee health departments to adapt to change circumstances. -
Nurses struggle with night-shift sleepiness
Half of all health care workers who work the night shift get less than six hours of sleep a day. They drink caffeine to stay alert, but many still struggle to keep from involuntarily dozing. And one in four night shift nurses resort to staying awake for at least 24 hours to adjust to changing schedules. -
Do duty hour limits work for residents?
A mid concerns about the impact of fatigue on medical errors, the governing body of medical education sought to make sure the least experienced medical residents get the most sleep. But a new survey indicates that other residents and program supervisors believe the rules are just creating problems for other residents without improving medical education.