Hospital Employee Health – April 1, 2015
April 1, 2015
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NIOSH: Pregnant workers should avoid hazardous drug exposures
Even the best safety program can’t eliminate the risk to employees handling hazardous drugs, so workers who are pregnant, trying to conceive or breastfeeding should be offered alternative duty, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health concluded in a draft guidance document.
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Health care jobs and tasks with potential exposure to hazardous drugs range from docs to support staff
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Post-Ebola: OSHA steps of HCW involvement, says deadly virus falls under bloodborne standard
When two Dallas nurses became infected last fall while caring for the nation’s first domestic Ebola patient, the public grew alarmed about the possibility of spread in neighborhoods, stores and airplanes. But the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration was concerned about a more present danger: Workplace transmission.
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Ebola funds may bring new resources to protect HCWs, patients as $576 million distributed
Health care workers face infectious disease risks every day, but the Ebola outbreak put those hazards into a harsh, new perspective: You have protective gear, and if you don’t wear it properly, you could die.
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Small business panel questions need for OSHA infectious disease rule, says expand BBP standard
After listening to employers ranging from funeral directors and dentists to administrators of small hospitals and surgery centers, a Small Business Advocacy Review Panel advised the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to put the brakes on its infectious disease rulemaking.
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‘Active shooter’ scenario and violence prevention should be on every hospital’s agenda
While nearly every hospital nationwide now has a plan in the event of an Ebola patient, few are prepared for a workplace threat that is becoming all too common: an active shooter or another kind of violent act.
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Common barriers to workplace violence prevention include lack of incident follow-up
Nurses and allied health professionals are at increased risk of workplace violence, and yet there remain challenging barriers to preventing violence in the hospital setting, researchers report.1