Archive for: September, 2011
Ask the expert: Declining to use PPE
Q: Isn’t it true that OSHA allows healthcare workers to use professional judgment in declining to use personal protective equipment such as gloves and eye goggles?
A: It is true that under the Bloodborne Pathogens standard a worker can decline to use personal protective equipment (PPE), but the circumstances under which this is permitted is limited and cannot be used as a routine practice.
Ask the expert: Scalpel blade removal
Q: If our facility does not use disposable safety scalpels, is it okay to remove the blade by hand?
New leader named for Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program
For readers with healthcare facility accreditation responsibilities, we’d to pass on some news from our HCPro Association for Healthcare Accreditation Professionals (AHAP) colleagues.
Partnering for clean spaces and healthy patients
Strengthening the relationship between infection prevention (IP) and environmental services (EVS) to improve patient outcomes and reduce infections is the goal “Clean Spaces, Healthy Patients,” according to an announcement by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), September 27.
Physician to stand trial for hepatitis outbreak
The physician at a Las Vegas clinic associated a hepatitis outbreak is competent to stand trial.
Ask the expert: Paid time for scheduling hepatitis B vaccinations
Q: Where does OSHA say that employees can take paid time for scheduling hepatitis B vaccinations?
Study: Pay attention to the germs on the curtains
Researchers presenting at the 51st Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy say that privacy curtains in healthcare facilities are a source of contamination, according to Reuters, September 22.
Weekly poll: New hires and hepatitis B protection
A study researching healthcare students and hepatitis B vaccinations found lower immunization rates and more instances of incomplete vaccination documentation than expected. When hiring new employees, whether students or long-time healthcare workers, is determining their hepatitis immunity status easy or a difficult? Take our OSHA Healthcare Advisor Weekly Poll and let us know.
OSHA updates whistleblower guidance
OSHA has updated the guidance document that it uses to investigate cases through the Whistleblower Protection Program, which addresses retaliation complaints under the 21 federal whistleblower statutes.
CDC reports on waterborne disease outbreaks
A report in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, September 23, analyzed 48 waterborne disease outbreaks that occurred in 24 states and Puerto Rico and finds that Legionella was “the most frequently reported etiology among drinking water–associated outbreaks.
OSHA sues dental practice for firing workers voicing safety concerns
Capped needles, not capped teeth, has a Beverly, MA, dental practice, in whistleblower trouble with OSHA.
OSHA is suing N. Terry Fayad, and his dental practice “for allegedly firing an employee for raising concerns about needlestick hazards and filing a health hazard complaint, according to a September 21 OSHA news release.
Wear an orange nose and share what you know about good health
October 5 is orange nose day where healthcare professionals can surprise patients, visitors, and staff by wearing an orange foam nose while sharing tips on the following five steps to good health:
