Hospital Employee Health – August 1, 2015
August 1, 2015
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OSHA: Patient handling injuries, other top worker hazards targeted
All inspections of hospitals and nursing homes will include a focus on musculoskeletal disorders and injuries related to safe patient handling and four other top hazards in healthcare: workplace violence, bloodborne pathogens, tuberculosis, and slips, trips and falls, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently announced.
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OSHA inspector: ‘What is the decision logic for use of lift, transfer, or repositioning devices?’
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s new instructions to inspectors includes a section on musculoskeletal disorders.
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AOHP national survey finds ‘disturbing’ increase in sharps injuries, blood exposures to HCWs
Needlesticks and blood exposures appear to be increasing, threatening healthcare workers with bloodborne infections and the attendant mental anguish of awaiting test results for themselves or source patients, researchers report.
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Are you prepared for the next airborne disease?
Ebola. H1N1. MERS. SARS. The stakes are high when health care workers care for patients with an emerging infectious disease, and gaps in respiratory protection can have deadly consequences. Yet studies show those gaps persist.
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Required elements in respirator training
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires the following elements in training of employees in respiratory protection:
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Vanderbilt makes it easy to complete fit-testing
At Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, complying with respiratory protection is convenient, education-based — and mandatory.
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Study: In actual clinical practice, N95 respirators no more protective to HCWs than surgical masks
In a study certain to stir controversy, researchers in Canada report that N95 respirators were no better than surgical masks in preventing respiratory infections in healthcare workers in clinical settings.
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Fired whistleblower awarded $85k for reporting unsafe needle disposal practices
Did you know that an employee with an occupational safety concern in your healthcare facility could trigger an OSHA visit by blowing the proverbial whistle?