Hospital Employee Health 2006-12-01

CDC: Use of N95 respirators during pandemics is 'prudent' for HCWs

Consider this scenario: Pandemic influenza has emerged in the community, there's no vaccine, and antivirals are in short supply. Your stockpile of N95 respirators needs to last as long as possible, because getting a new shipment may be difficult. What do you do?

Study shows surgical masks aren't protection

Surgical masks provide virtually no protection against inhalation of airborne particles. Influenza involves airborne transmission as well as other forms of transmission.

Can you trust the TB blood test? Questions linger

After years of struggling with the vagaries of the tuberculosis skin test, you might think that hospitals would embrace a new technology. But the blood test has been slow to catch on.

State licensing rules call for safe lifts

As safe patient handling laws gain ground in state legislatures, reducing injuries is becoming the mandate of a new enforcement power: the state licensing division.

Seeking safety from patient assaults

Hospitals take precautions to prevent the spread of infections from patients to health care workers. But what about when the danger is physical -- and the health care worker is at risk of assault?

Matching the job to the worker cuts injuries

The first steps to prevent injury at Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa in Mason City occur even before an employee begins his or her job.

News Briefs

Injury and illness rates declined overall in 2005, but the rate at hospitals remained almost double that of general industry, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

JCAHO Update for Infection Control: JCAHO pushing new age of patient empowerment

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) is emphasizing that knowledge is power when it comes to patients.

JCAHO Update for Infection Control: Hand washing: You must measure compliance

Lack of consensus on how to measure hand hygiene compliance has made this a daunting challenge for quality professionals.

Hospital Employee Health – December 1, 2006

December 1, 2006