Archive for: Featured
Ohio OKs surgical masks after N95 study retraction
At least one state isn’t hesitating to change respiratory protection requirements after authors of an influential Australian study retracted findings that N95 respirators provide more protection than surgical masks against the flu.
Ohio state officials have backed out on previous support of CDC requirements that recommend N95 respirators for healthcare workers treating patients with suspected H1N1, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. State requirements will now permit the use of surgical masks.
Lab infections don’t always translate to sloppy practices
It’s been a tough last couple weeks at Boston hospitals between a stabbing at Massachusetts General Hospital, and tainted coffee at a Harvard medical laboratory.
You can add another one to the list. An incident at a Boston University medical lab completed the safety trifecta last week when a BU graduate student developed a bacterial infection days after conducting experiments with dangerous meningitis germs, according to The Boston Globe.
OSHA violations by healthcare facility type
Total OSHA fines were down across all types of healthcare facilities as of the end the federal government’s fiscal year 2009, according to OSHA Statistics and Data Web page. (www.osha.gov/oshstats/index.html, accessed October 5, 2009.)
Medical and dental practices and hospitals saw the greatest decreases, 30%-40%, with nursing care facilities and laboratories showing more modest decreases at 12%-14%.
H1N1 vaccine demand clogs hotline
Healthcare facilities around the country are feeling the effects of a decreased supply of H1N1 vaccines. Here in Nebraska an Iowa public health clinics are dealing with long lines of frightened people looking for protection this winter.
In the months before flu season began, many experts suggested setting up influenza hotlines, to mitigate the surge of patients, particularly in smaller facilities where isolation precautions are harder to adhere to.
Nurses group to CDC: No excuse for N95 shortage
Given all the warnings to prepare for pandemic influenza during the past few years, it is just inexcusable for employers to shortchange nurses by not providing proper respiratory protection with N95 respirators, says the American Nurses Association (ANA).
Weekly poll: Hand hygiene games
We’ve all heard it 1,000 times: Hand hygiene compliance is the number one way to reduce infections.
Despite that fact, medical facilities continually struggle with hand hygiene compliance. Many facilities have found that games and lighthearted competition usually create an atmosphere where employees are easily motivated to wash their hands. Some others believe handwashing is strictly serious business.
What do you think? Does your facility use games to improve hand hygiene?
Notes from the field: A caller just said there is a suspicious package at the back door!
Believe it or not, healthcare facilities are not exempt from bomb threats. Recently, an office told me what had happened in their practice several weeks ago.
The practice had received some pediatric immunizations in a white Styrofoam box. At the end of the day that box was thrown in the dumpster. A few days later, the Receptionist answered the phone to hear a muffled voice say there was a bomb at the back door. The caller said he would “get Dr._____________” for not listening to him when he was in the office.
Less stress means fewer accidents in the lab
Are some employees just accident prone? Is there a way to assess personality traits related to the propensity for getting into accidents? If you could identify such traits, could you generalize traits from one setting to another?
Although there is very little data on this subject, there is some. Samantha Dunn, in her book, Not by Accident: Reconstructing a Careless Life (Henry Holt, 2002), suggests that emotional states that lead to distraction can contribute to accidents. Anxiety, stress and depression are at the root of many accidents because they cloud judgments and slow reaction time.
Hand hygiene fun and games
Back in May I wrote about a hand hygiene tag, a game created by employees at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). The idea was an interesting and well-received approach to hand hygiene compliance.
Getting schooled: N95 and surgical mask 101
With all the hubbub concerning whether to use N95 respirators or surgical/procedure masks for H1N1 protection, NIOSH posted a nice piece on the history, development, and effectiveness of these medical devices on its science blog.
