Archive for: March, 2011
MRSA most common in summer and fall
The last thing people want to be thinking about in the summer and fall is contracting MRSA but that’s when it’s most common in children, according to a new study.
Intensive care unit cleaning decreases MRSA and other bacteria
A study published in the March 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine looked at intensive care unit rooms previously inhabited by patients with MRSA or ancomycin-resistant enteroccoci (VRE) and compared the effect of a cleaning intervention with how it reduced both infections.
Ask the expert: Used sharps under lock and key
Q: In our medical practice, when sharps containers are full they are taken to a storeroom to be picked up and removed on a weekly basis. Is there a regulation that states whether this room must be locked?
Hospital worker dies of anesthetic overdose
A Pittsburgh area hospital worker was found dead in a storage closet next to a bottle of inhalant anesthesia, reported the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, March 22.
Weekly Poll: Exposure risks as healthcare worker or patient
You know that as a healthcare worker your risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens, such as hepatitis B, C, and HIV, is higher than other occupations. But recent reports of exposures to patients by accidentally or intentionally compromised infection control practices or just plain ignorance may have given you concern about your own health risks as a patient. Are you more concerned about acquiring a bloodborne infection as a healthcare worker or as a patient receiving care? Take the OSHA Healthcare Advisor Weekly Poll and let us know.
CDC updates about infected prep pads
For readers following the FDA recall of alcohol prep pads, the CDC has added information with “Notes from the Field: Contamination of Alcohol Prep Pads with Bacillus cereus Group and Bacillus Species — Colorado, 2010” in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) for March 25.
The story involves two separate incidents at The Children’s Hospital (THC) in Aurora, CO, which led investigators to Bacillus cereus-infected alcohol prep pads.
Inspections and registrations are on their way to New Jersey physician surgical facilities
Surgical facilities in the state of New Jersey will soon require registration and inspection.
Lack of funding a problem for infection control programs
A study published in the April 2011 issue of the Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology journal found that lack of funding is an obstacle for healthcare organizations wishing to implement an antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP).
5th Annual AHAP Conference to be held in Las Vegas
I wanted to share with our readers an exciting opportunity from the Association for Healthcare Accreditation Professionals (AHAP) to attend the next annual Association for Healthcare Accreditation Professionals (AHAP) Conference, taking place in Las Vegas from May 12 –13, 2011.
We’ve heard first-hand how happy attendees were to connect and network with each other—both veterans and rookies said they greatly benefit from the connections they’ve made at this conference.
The agenda has been posted with some timely sessions that will cover Joint Commission and CMS regulatory changes in 2011, improving compliance with core measures, tips for data management, and plenty more.
For more information, including the full agenda, learning objectives, speaker list, continuing education information, hotel, and pricing, visit the AHAP website.
Fire safety (Part I): Before you extinguish, classify
The following is an excerpt from the Complete Guide to Laboratory Safety, Third Edition, by Terry Jo Gile. To purchase this book, click here.
According to the National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 10, fires are classified into five types based on the material burning. Different types of extinguishers are used for different types of fires:
Class A fires involve ordinary solid combustible materials such as paper, wood, or cloth. Extinguish Class A fires with water or an all-purpose dry chemical extinguisher. Class A fires may smolder for a long time, so it is important to drown them thoroughly.
FDA gives Steris more time to replace System 1 processer
In the long battle starring Steris Corp.’s System 1 processor, the FDA has extended the life of the processor and given healthcare providers until February 2, 2012, to replace it.
Free podcasts on occupational and environmental medicine
The New England College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (NECEOM) has released 12 recorded lectures from the December 2010 annual conference held in Boston, MA.
Lectures of particular interest to OSHA Healthcare Advisor visitors include:
- Acceptance of Seasonal Influenza and Monovalent H1N1 Vaccinations Among VA Healthcare Workers
- Workplace Health- Who’s Taking Care of Our Healthcare Workers?
- Occupational Risk Factors in Disaster Relief Workers
Click here for links to the NECEOM podcasts.
