Hospital Employee Health – October 1, 2004

October 1, 2004

• Beware of the N95s: Fit-testing is fair game for OSHA inspectors

  Is your respiratory program ready for an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspection? As of July 2, an OSHA inspector can ask about your use of respirators to protect against tuberculosis and when you last fit-tested health care workers who are caring for TB patients.

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• OSHA: PAPRs can be used by first receivers

  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has another message about respiratory protection in hospitals: Think beyond infectious diseases.

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• PPE Advice from OSHA’s Draft Best Practices

  Powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs); Gloves; Garments

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• Chemo quandary: No good way to monitor exposure

  Chemotherapeutic agents are colorless, odorless, and hazardous. How do you know if your employees have been exposed as they prepare or administer the drugs or clean in contaminated areas?

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• JCAHO advice: Be on your toes for survey

  Barb Maxwell, RN, MHA, COHN-S, CCM, CWCP, and her colleagues had braced themselves for the new survey process of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). They knew they had to be ready for the unexpected.

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• Why you should ‘never leave your wing man’

  Red rules have earned Sentara Norfolk (VA) General Hospital a golden award. The hospital won the American Hospital Quest for Quality Prize from the American Hospital Association for creating an institutionwide cultural transformation with a commitment to safety. The prize: $75,000.

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• Call center rings up WC savings, better reporting

  You cant manage workers compensation costs if you cant track those costs. That basic truth led OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria to rethink its system, beginning with the first report of a work-related injury.

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• News Brief

  CDC: Mismatched flu vaccine still effective

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