Hospital Employee Health – October 1, 2016
October 1, 2016
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CMS Finalizing Disaster Reg; Includes Training, Assisting HCWs
As dealing with natural disasters and emerging infections becomes the new normal for hospitals, CMS will soon issue “all-hazards” emergency regulations that include requirements for protecting and accommodating healthcare workers, Hospital Employee Health has learned.
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Know What You Don’t Know
Emergency response and employee health ultimately boils down to a paradoxical paradigm: “Know what you don’t know,” says Cathy Floyd, MS, BSN, RN, DPA, COHN-S, regional manager of occupational health at Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston.
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Contagion: A different type of disaster planning
Though an upcoming CMS regulation calls for an “all-hazards” approach to disasters, a pandemic or infectious disease outbreak brings some unique characteristics to the tabletop planning.
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Cancer Patients Urged to be Tested for TB in Seattle
Some 140 cancer patients at two healthcare facilities in Seattle have been advised to seek testing for tuberculosis after a healthcare worker with latent tuberculosis infection developed active disease that went undiagnosed for some time.
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Making the Business Case for Safe Patient Handling Equipment
Though every healthcare worker who handles patients is at risk of injury, it may be difficult to convince hospital administrators to purchase a sufficient inventory of safe patient lifting equipment.
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Zika Update: FDA Says Test Blood Supply in All States
Underscoring the threat of Zika virus transmission via the blood supply, the FDA is calling for all states to screen donations, with Florida to do so immediately.
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OSHA Cites Home Health Group for Failure to Protect HCWs
With the aging population, home healthcare is rapidly expanding — but worker protections must expand as well to protect employees who may be vulnerable to violence. A recent citation by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration underscores this point, as a company that provides pediatric home health was issued a willful citation and fined $98,000 following the sexual assault of a healthcare worker.