All Entries in the "CDC/infection control" Category

In halting mandatory flu shots, NY had to step back

For now, the war drums in New York state can stop beating. In an about-face, New York Governor David Paterson announced yesterday that healthcare workers in the state will no longer be required to receive seasonal or H1N1 flu vaccinations as a condition of employment.

Let’s be blunt: It’s hard to win a battle against nurses. They collectively fuel the engine that runs healthcare, and they also possess a powerful voice. Some nurses get flu shots, some don’t. What New York’s initial rule and subsequent backtracking show [more]

CDC revisions continue to recommend N95 use, but acknowledge supply shortages

The CDC issued revised interim guidelines yesterday to protect healthcare workers from the H1N1 swine flu virus.

The biggest news is that the CDC continues to recommend that healthcare workers wear N95 respirators when [more]

Sinks, ice machines, and a little infection control

A little while back, I was asked about an under-the-sink area that was dirty with chipped Formica along the bottom of the sink cabinet. The same organization had dripping ice machines that were rusty.

As it turns out, there is a dual applicability to these problems, as they can be curtailed [more]

Poll results: At least 25% of workers won’t get H1N1 shots

If you didn’t catch our update in last week’s Hospital Safety Connection e-newsletter, I wanted to briefly mention the results of our informal H1N1 poll that we conducted on the main HCPro.com site.

In short, one in four respondents said they would not get an H1N1 swine flu shot as part of their work duties. Click here for full details on the results.

9/16 webinar on how IC ties into employee safety

We’ve got a great Webinar coming up on Wednesday called “Developing an Effective IC Program to Ensure Employee Health and Safety,” which takes place at 1 p.m. Eastern. You can also order it on-demand and watch it at your convenience if the initial broadcast time doesn’t fit into your schedule.

Among the topics our experts will discuss include how employee health ties into:

• CDC guidelines and OSHA standards for staff member immunization
• Personal protective equipment and respiratory protection
• Screening and exposure protocols

This show is part of our series, Infection Prevention Core Training.

Take our poll about the H1N1 vaccine for healthcare workers

As I’m sure you’ve heard in your hospital hallways, there’s a lot of talk about the safety and effectiveness of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine.

The CDC has put healthcare workers who have contact with patients as one of the top priority groups to receive the H1N1 shots when they become available.

We’ve got a poll up on our main HCPro site asking whether you will get an H1N1 vaccine. Click here and then scroll to the bottom of the page to take the poll.

Let us know what you think, and I’ll report back on the results in a few days.

From infection control to South Park . . .

CMS is trying to tie hospital-acquired infections to reimbursement. Of course, ratcheting down on reimbursement only [more]

H1N1 call brings up hospital access control, sick employees

I listened in on a CMS open forum conference call this afternoon about H1N1 preparedness in healthcare facilities, and the topic of infection control in hospitals came up.

A CDC representative noted that [more]

Questions raised at one hospital about adequate PPE supplies

Hi everyone, it’s Scott Wallask. My colleagues over at OSHA Healthcare Advisor blogged this week about a hospital that was butting heads with some employees regarding personal protective equipment.

The workers don’t believe the hospital has supplied enough PPE, which raises the question of what would happen to the absentee rate at this facility if a pandemic occurred. The hospital disagrees with the employees’ contention. It’s a though provoking blog post.

New Webinar series offers core infection control training

If the abbreviations MRSA, MDRO, and C. diff. are in your vocabulary, you may want to check out HCPro’s upcoming Webcast series on infection control training that starts next week.

Infection Prevention Core Training, Part 1: Meeting the Challenge of Multidrug-Resistant Organisms (MDROs) takes place on Wednesday, July 15, at 1 p.m. Eastern time. You can also purchase a bundle package that includes all three of our infection control Webcasts at a savings.

Please pass this on to your infection control folks, too, if you think they’d be interested.