Hospital Employee Health – September 1, 2008
September 1, 2008
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Vaccination nation: Pressure mounting to improve HCW flu immunization rate
Pressure to vaccinate more health care workers against influenza will grow even more intense this year, as public health officials seek to reach the Healthy People 2010 goal of immunizing 60% of all health care workers. -
Hospitals take their best shot at the flu
"Everyone deserves a shot at fighting flu." The catchy slogan of the American Nurses Association (ANA) is an example of the marketing push for greater flu vaccination of health care workers. Everyone is stepping up their role to raise the influenza immunization rate. -
NIOSH loses leader despite wide support
The future direction of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is once again in question as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH, declined to reappoint John Howard, MD, as director. -
Pertussis cluster points to need for Tdap vaccine
When the nurse went to work with a persistent cough, she undoubtedly thought she just had a lingering cold, or perhaps a seasonal allergy. But she actually suffered from pertussis, and inadvertently spread a serious illness to at least 11 infants in the newborn nursery of a Texas hospital. -
Measles outbreak lesson: Check HCW immunity
The Swiss tourist with pneumonia who came to the emergency department in a Tucson, AZ, hospital didn't seem like an unusual case. And yet her story would unfold into a cautionary tale for hospitals about why they should be on guard for cases of measles - and why they need accessible records on the immune status of employees. -
Larger patient size adds to ergo risk
When an obese patient who is fully dependent is admitted to your hospital, it doesn't matter how many health care workers try to work together to manually lift the patient. It cannot be done safely. -
Shift work: Sleepless in more than Seattle
Working nights and rotating shifts can wreak havoc with your sleep schedule. Shift work has been linked to a wide range of hazards, from cardiovascular disease and cancer to fatigue that leads to errors. But researchers have an upbeat message about shift work: You can reduce those ill effects. -
Nurses: Work pressure hurts safety climate
Increasing workloads and pressure and an emphasis on productivity is negatively affecting the safety climate at hospitals, nurses reported in a 2008 online survey of nurses by the Silver Spring, MD-based American Nurses Association (ANA).