OSHA fines are down, but not for long
From HealthLeaders, Nov. 18, 2009
Total OSHA fines and inspections decreased across all types of healthcare facilities in FY 2009.
Medical and dental practices and hospitals saw the greatest decreases in fines, 30%-40% from the previous year, according to OSHA’s Statistics and Data Web page. Nursing care facilities and laboratories showed less dramatic decreases at 12%-14%.
Nursing facilities ($321,327) and hospital settings ($196,400) ranked first and second respectively in total fines by type of facility, accounting for nearly three-quarters of OSHA fines issued in healthcare. Next came medical ($52,214) and dental ($47,549) practices at approximately 7% each of total OSHA healthcare fines.
Even though this is the second straight year healthcare violations have seen a decline, the trend is not likely to continue. OSHA under President Obama has an increased budget, including 130 new inspectors, according to remarks made earlier this summer by acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Jordan Barab to the American Society of Safety Engineers. “The law says that employers are responsible for workplace safety and health, and there’s a new sheriff in town to enforce the law,” said Barab.
APIC conference updates: Ambulatory care
More updates from APICs “Healthcare-associated infections: A changing legal and regulatory landscape. For the previous two updates, click here for part 1, and here for part 2.
This session might be of particular interest to the OSHA Healthcare Advisor audience since it focused specifically on HAI prevention in ambulatory surgery centers (ASC).
The first to present was Dr. Joseph Perz, the prevention team leader for the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. He’s worked extensively with safe injection practices, which have been a problem in recent years among ASCs.
APIC conference updates: A legal perspective
More updates from APICs “Healthcare-associated infections: A changing legal and regulatory landscape. For the first post on opening remarks, click here.
Unfortunately I didn’t catch all of this session, but I’ll pass along what I did tune into:
Sheila Namm, Esp., R.N., MA, currently the vice-president of professional affairs at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY, talked about the relationship between risk management and infection control:
APIC conference updates: Pronovost’s opening remarks
No, I’m not blogging from Washington D.C. (still from the lovely confines of my cube), but APIC has made their conference, “Healthcare-associated infections: A changing legal and regulatory landscape” a hybrid event available via webcast so that interested parties that couldn’t make the trip could still tune in.
For those of you who aren’t tuning in today, I’m posting brief updates on the sessions and some of the major takaways.
The featured speaker was Dr. Peter Pronovost, a well-known medical director at Center for Innovation in Quality Patient Care, which supports quality and safety efforts at the Johns Hopkins Hospitals. He’s also a practicing anesthesiologist and critical care physician, teacher, researcher, and international patient safety leader, with too many other titles and accomplishments for me to write out before you get bored.
Ask the expert: PPE for dental assistants
Q: Can you let me know if dental assistants are required to wear personal; protective equipment (PPE), and if so what are the options for cleaning it.
A: PPE is not based on the job title, but the hazards present. It is the employer’s responsibility to identify hazards, address those hazards in the written exposure control plan (ECP), and ensure that workers adhere to those requirements. So, first check your ECP for your facility.
