Archive for: December, 2008
Ask the Expert—Safety needles in small healthcare facilities
Q: Just where does it say that we have to use safety needles? We are opening a new medical practice and there is disagreement on this.
Market share and legislation reduce needlesticks
It appears that years of advocacy by needlestick prevention experts, good ol’ capitalism, and, yes, a little bit of heavy-handed regulation by the government, has made it safer in protecting healthcare workers from contracting life-altering or even life-threatening infections such as HIV, HBV, or HCV.
Poll Question: Sharps prevention technology
A new study published by the University of Virginia International Healthcare Worker Safety Center in the December 8, 2008, Journal of Infection and Public Health, found that U.S. healthcare workers are now significantly safer from needlestick injuries. Much of the credit goes to the innovation of safety engineered devices.
However, the study also found that nonhospital settings such as clinics, private doctors’ and dentists’ offices, long-term care facilities, and freestanding laboratories have an adoption rate 25-35% below hospitals.
Which leads us to the poll question of the week: How has your facility reacted in adopting safety-engineered devices?
Note: Adobe Flash Player is required to view this poll. To download the latest version, click here.
Ask the Expert—Evacuation plan for a small facility
Q: Must we have an evacuation plan even if we have only a few employees?
Chemical Hygiene Standard v. Hazard Communication
In 1987 OSHA created the Hazard Communication (HC) standard, which required all industries to take measures ensuring employee safety regarding hazardous chemicals.
But the standard failed to take into account the number of chemicals present in laboratories, which store hundreds of chemicals, often in small quantities. In some cases, the standard forced these labs to have as many as 900 MSDS forms on hand.
Poll Question: OSHA PPE ruling
On December 12, OSHA released their final ruling on training employees regarding PPE use. The new rule clarifies OSHA standards, stating that each employee that is not in compliance with the PPE standard would be treated as separate violations.
Will this new ruling have an effect on your facility?
Note: Adobe Flash Player is required to view this poll. To download the latest version, click here.
Note: Adobe Flash Player is required to view this poll. To download the latest version, click Ask the expert—Gloves and flu shots
Q: Does OSHA require healthcare workers to wear gloves when giving flu shots?
Being ergonomically conscious
Ergonomics continues to be an issue that affects millions of workers, particularly in the healthcare profession, despite the fact that ergonomic injuries are the most expensive and easiest to prevent. If you don’t believe it, just look at the statistics.
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the most common injury due to poor ergonomics, and healthcare workers are particularly susceptible. In 2007, nursing aides, orderlies and attendants ranked second only to laborers and material workers in the number of MSD cases, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This demographic also had a MSD rate of 252 cases per 10,000 workers, more than seven times the national MSD average for all occupations.
Ask the Expert—Postvaccination testing
Q: After employees have the hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination, when should they be tested for immunity and which test should be ordered?
Budget cuts threaten emergency preparedness
You’ve no doubt heard about the unemployment rate, the bank bailouts, and most recently the trouble in Detroit with the auto industry. Every day headlines reveal another portion of the U.S. sucker punched by the economy.
Now you’re going to hear about some of the jabs the economy has thrown at the public health system, particularly the programs devoted to emergency management.
