Hospital Employee Health – February 1, 2013
February 1, 2013
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Joint Comission: Serious HCW injuries are now sentinel events
In a move that raises the profile of employee health, The Joint Commission accrediting agency is expanding its definition of a "sentinel event" to include serious injury to health care workers. -
'High reliability' hospital obsessed with safety
When you get on an airplane, you expect layers of precautions to prevent any error that could lead to failure and injury. You demand the same or even greater care from the nearby nuclear power plant. And now, you can expect that serious attention to safety from a growing number of hospitals. -
Most hospital shootings are not preventable
The day after the horrific Dec. 14, 2012 shootings at an elementary school in Newtown, CT, a visitor who was reportedly upset over the cardiac care his wife received shot two employees and a police officer at St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, AL before he was killed by another officer on the scene. -
SEIU sues to stop RI flu shot mandate
The toughest flu vaccine mandate in the country faces a legal challenge from the nation's largest union representing health care workers. -
NIOSH: Track HCWs who handle hazardous drugs
Hospitals should identify which employees could be exposed to hazardous drugs and should track their medical history in a surveillance program, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) said in a recent notice. -
Poor PPE use linked to weak training
Nurses often don't know when or how to use respirators, and the fault may lie with their education or the lack of it. -
An 'unfinished agenda' on sharps safety
There's more work to do to keep health care workers safe from needlesticks. That was the primary message of an online awareness event by Safe in Common, an organization promoting sharps safety.