Hospital Employee Health 2006-09-01

Hospitals take their best shot to fight flu with new emphasis from JCAHO

Ramp up your flu vaccine campaign. This year, the heat is on for hospitals to improve their health care worker vaccination rates.

Successful campaigns for vaccinating HCWs

If there is a vaccine shortage, using additional strategies if necessary to ensure those who are identified as needing the vaccine are targeted.

Hospitals merge pertussis vaccination with flu shots

Hospitals began offering pertussis vaccines to their employees in an effort to protect vulnerable patients from a disease that is most contagious in its early stages, when it may go undetected.

Concerns raised about flu vaccine supply, again

Problems with a major flu manufacturer have raised the possibility of another vaccine shortage or delay this fall.

Safe lifting fits JCAHO fall prevention goal

If you're still trying to convince your hospital administration to invest in a safe patient handling program, here's a compelling reason: Lift equipment may help prevent patient falls.

OSHA cites hospital on formaldehyde

Concerns about formaldehyde exposure in a laboratory of New York Hospital Queens led to $112,500 in fines and two citations for alleged "willful" violations from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Protecting employers from formaldehyde exposure

Airborne concentrations of formaldehyde above 0.1 ppm can cause irritation of the respiratory tract. The severity of irritation worsens as concentrations increase.

NIOSH warns users about uncertified N95s

A growing demand for N95 filtering facepiece respirators has created a booming market -- and concerns about the marketing claims of new products.

Stress cripples HCWs in emergency department

The nation's emergency care system is in crisis, and the solution must include protections for the health care workers who struggle to make it work, according to an Institute of Medicine report ...

JCAHO Update for Infection Control: JCAHO standard targets resistance to HCW flu vaccinations

Having made infection control and patient safety top priorities in recent years, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations is now taking on the thorny issue of flu vaccinations for health care workers in a new standard that becomes effective next year.

JCAHO Update for Infection Control: Nurses charge JCAHO lax on staffing standards

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations is embroiled in a legal battle with the American Nurses Association (ANA) over the issue of hospital staffing levels.

JCAHO Update for Infection Control: News Brief: JCAHO, APIC publish infection control book

Joint Commission Resources (JCR) -- a division of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations -- has collaborated with a leading national infection control group to publish a workbook.

Hospital Employee Health – September 1, 2006

September 1, 2006