Hospital Employee Health – June 1, 2007
June 1, 2007
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Patients with resistant staph infections are putting health care workers at risk
In the battle against nosocomial spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococ-cus aureus (MRSA), health care workers are more than just potential carriers. -
'Do no harm'? HCWs need vigilance on TB
In January, a health care worker who worked in the maternity ward, neonatal intensive care unit, newborn nursery and psychiatric ward of St. Barnabas Hospital in New York City was diagnosed with active tuberculosis. -
OSHA and NIOSH: Use blunt suture needles
Consider yourself forewarned: It's time to switch to blunt suture needles in the OR. -
Pushing flu shot declination statements irks some HCWs
You may be able to boost your influenza vaccination rates by requiring health care workers to sign mandatory declination statements. But declinations themselves may put a negative tone to the annual campaign. -
Do random tests bring a 'drug-free workplace'?
Truck drivers do it. So do airline pilots and nuclear power plant workers. Should health care workers also be subject to random drug tests? -
Linen lift teams lighten the load
Lift teams aren't just for patient handling. As the UC Davis Health System in Sacramento discovered, the same concept can reduce injuries for other workers who must transfer heavy loads. -
Taking a LEAP lowers WC costs
It's a common disconnect: An employee at home, healing from an injury, feels increasingly distant from work. As time passes, the chance of that employee returning to work drops. -
The Joint Commission Update for Infection Control: The neglected vaccine: Joint Commission finds many hospitals not offering pneumonia shot to at-risk patients
Despite existing national recommendations to the contrary, more than a third of hospitals reporting performance measurement data to The Joint Commission are not offering pneumococcal vaccine to their pneumonia patients, a recent report reveals. -
The Joint Commission Update for Infection Control: Joint Commission Q&A on safe tissue handling
The Joint Commission has created some Q&A clarification of its standards regarding tissue handling and transplantation in light of some highly publicized incidents of inappropriate practices.