Hospital Employee Health – June 1, 2012
June 1, 2012
View Issues
-
OSHA cracks down on ergo hazards in health care
Eleven years after Congress rescinded the ergonomics standard, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is preparing to wield its "general duty clause" powers to identify ergonomic hazards in health care. -
OSHA's expectations for heath care ergo
In a directive for compliance officers, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration lays out the key areas of an ergonomics program for health care employers. This is what inspectors will look for: -
Preparing for an OSHA inspection
Reducing hazards is the key to a safe workplace. It means fewer injuries, workers' compensation claims, and absenteeism and a culture of safety. But with OSHA's emphasis on health care, it is also important to ask: How would OSHA view the health and safety program? Are you ready for an OSHA inspection? -
Take steps to reduce risk of work violence
A 70-year-old man waves a gun in the emergency department. A gunman shoots his estranged wife and her mother in an intensive care unit. An environmental services worker at a hospital shoots his ex-wife, also an employee, in the hospital garage. -
Fine line: Employee records not part of medical data
As hospitals move rapidly toward an electronic medical record to improve patient care and coordination, employee health has a delicate task. Employee health can ride the wave to better use of technology but must still maintain employee confidentiality. -
Key vendor leaves market, EHPs scramble for software
Amid all the advances in electronic medical records software, there's been a setback in occupational health. Respond, which was purchased by Becton, Dickinson and Company in 2009 and renamed BD Protect, is being discontinued. -
The information age arrives for occ health
If information is power, then employee health professionals are about to get a lot more powerful. -
TB tracking prevents HCW exposures
Closely tracking infections among health care workers helps Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN, detect clusters and prevent further infections. -
Measles cases hit 15-year high
Measles cases rose to their highest level in 15 years in 2011, yet another reminder to be on guard for the highly transmissible disease, public health authorities say. -
Smoke lingers in the surgical suite
Many hospitals have banned smoking from their campuses, but exposure to smoke continues to cause health problems in the operating room.