Archive for: May, 2012
Hospital dinged for waste disposal practices
A New Hampshire hospital was fined for improper disposal of pharmaceutical waste.
Dry your eyes – but don’t dry those wipes!
A quick note of interest from the survey world
A recent survey resulted in a hospital being cited under the Infection Control standards (IC.02.02.01 on low-level disinfection, to be exact). In two instances, someone had the temerity to forget to close the cover on a container of disinfectant wipes. Can you believe such risky behavior still exists in our 24/7 world of infection prevention? It’s true, my friend, it is true!
APIC advises on infection prevention when visiting the nail salon or tattoo parlor
If you’re thinking about heading to the nail salon for a little pampering or getting a new tattoo, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) reminds that without proper precaution, you could be putting yourself at risk for infection.
Study: Residents short on H1N1 PPE and infection prevention sense
While training as doctors during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, residents in four healthcare facilities showed a lack of knowledge about PPE use and when not to report to work because of illness, according to a study in the American Journal of Infection Control.
Reducing phlebotomy needlesticks
More than 10 years after the passage of the Needlestick Prevention and Safety Act phlebotomy procedures still pose significant needlestick risks for healthcare workers. A free webinar for nursing staff will discuss “the most recent needlestick injury data and nurses’ rights under current laws/regulations, as well as provide a review of available safety-engineered technologies and the benefits and limitations of each class of devices.”
Weekly poll: Random safety inspections, improved safety or burdensome expense
In his May 21 “(Work in Progress)” blog post, OSHA chief Dr. David Michaels touted a recent study that found an association between lower workplace injury claims for businesses in the four years following a random safety inspection compared to similar businesses that were not inspected. The study focused on select high-hazard industries inspected by the California OSHA program, but did not include healthcare.
With regard to healthcare do you believe that random safety inspections, such as from OSHA, do indeed improve safety without leading to burdensome business expenses or job loss? Take the OSHA Healthcare Advisor Weekly Poll and let us know.
OSHA hits four Veterans Administration clinics with safety notices
OSHA issued 30 notices of unsafe and unhealthful working conditions to four U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities in California. The facilities involved are the VA hospital in Mather and at outpatient clinics in Martinez, Fairfield and Oakland, and all are part of the VA’s Northern California Health Care System, according to a May 24 agency news release.
Ask the expert: Using safety needles in an orthopedic practice
Q: Our orthopedic practice only gives steroid injections. Are we required to use safety needles?
NIOSH guidelines for hazardous drugs in healthcare
The following recommendations, published by NIOSH in 2004, cover the prevention of occupational exposures to antineoplastic and other hazardous drugs:
Chemotherapy drugs and sterilizing agents put nurses at risk—Medical Environment Update, May 2012
It’s no surprise that highly toxic chemicals, found in chemotherapy drugs and sterilizing agents used to clean medical devices, can be harmful to those who don’t take the proper precautions. What is surprising is that exposure to these chemicals continues to be an issue, and that is one of the feature articles of the May issue of Medical Environment Update.
CDC posts healthcare setting outbreak reports for Hepatitis Awareness Month
As part of Hepatitis Awareness Month and the first National Hepatitis Testing Day in the U.S. on May 19, the CDC released two reports on protecting patients and workers from healthcare–associated viral hepatitis in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), May 18.
C. diff on the rise
There is clear evidence that Clostridium difficile (C.difficile), a difficult-to-control and treat bacterial infection, is increasing, especially in non-hospital settings, according to Mayo clinic researchers.
