Archive for: Notes from the field
Notes From the field: Floored on sharps container location
Let’s play drop the clothespin into the bottle.
Those were my exact thoughts as I watched a physician as he dropped a needle and syringe into a small sharps container that was sitting on the floor.
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.
Notes from the field: Are you using Lysol to clean that counter?
When I do my mock OSHA inspections, I often see staff members using household products to clean their counter tops and exam tables. Lysol is an EPA registered disinfectant that kills more than 99% of illnesses causing bacteria and viruses on environmental surfaces in your home, not a medical facility.
Notes from the field: A Needlestick! What to do, who to call, what to draw
A needlestick is one of those injuries we never think will happen to us. We are careful, we follow all of the rules, even use the required safety needles. But, somehow it happens.
It just comes out of no where! The tiny prick, the stab of pain, and that drop of BLOOD!! What do you do?? You must know how to respond quickly and correctly.
Notes from the field: Hide the coffee cup; the OSHA Lady is here!
I hear that coffee-cup-OSHA-Lady description of myself almost everyday when I visit medical practices. I am not from OSHA (Department of Labor), and I am not in your office to perform a real, reportable, OSHA inspection. I am a healthcare consultant, who specializes in OSHA compliance. As a part of your facility’s OSHA compliance program, I will perform an annual “mock” OSHA inspection.
Notes From the field: “That squeeze bottle is your eyewash?”
Just as I was finishing up a mock OSHA inspection, I asked the manager where the eyewash was located.
She took me to a cabinet and pulled out a squeeze bottle. “Here it is,” she said.
I looked at her and asked how on earth she was going to tilt her head and squeeze that bottle for the required 15 minutes!
Notes from the field: Do you a need a MSDS for Wite-Out?
As I was looking through the material safety data sheet (MSDS) notebook in an office, I found one on distilled water, Wite-Out, and dishwasher soap. None of these substances are considered hazardous. If the product is available commercially to the general public and is used exactly as directed on the label, it does NOT need a MSDS. Substances such as bleach, chemotherapy drugs, some injectible drugs, and glutaraldehyde DO require MSDS.
Notes from the field: YUCK! You got PUS, WHERE?
As I was finishing up an OSHA training class, I saw a physician running down the hall. We all turned around trying to figure out what had happened. I went to see if I could help in any way. I found the physician standing over the sink gulping and spitting out water. The medical assistant proceeded to tell me what had happened.
Notes from the field: “A mercury spill–OH NO!”
Several weeks ago I was sitting in a meeting with the CEO of a physician organization. My cell phone was on vibrate, and it kept buzzing across the table. I excused myself and went out in the hall to see where these calls were coming from. All three messages came from the same office. When I called the manager I was notified of a mercury spill. I told her to restrict access to the room and I would be there as soon as I could.
Notes from the field: You really don’t need a designer first-aid kit
When I do my mock OSHA inspections, I always ask to see the staff first-aid kit. The majority of the time the staff will tell me they use the STAT kit required by the insurance carriers.
I proceed to inform them that OSHA regulations/guidelines pertain to the employees, not the patients. OSHA requires that all medical workplaces have supplies to handle minor emergencies. OSHA requires a separate, readily available, first-aid kit for employee injuries.
During this last inspection, the manager smiled broadly and stated that she had personally bought the first-aid kit. She left the room to retrieve the kit.
