Archive for: Respiratory Protection
On-again, off-again N95 guidelines for H1N1
Here’s the latest news on whether workers need to use respirators or not for protection from novel influenza A H1N1.
The CDC’s Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) has adopted the recommendations of the Influenza A (H1N1) Working Group with regards to “Interim Guidance for Infection Control for Care of Patients with Confirmed or Suspected Novel Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Infection in a Healthcare Setting,” according to a July 23 report by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).
CDC to take nation’s pulse on H1N1 vaccination program
Looks like the CDC wants your opinion, or at least that of the informed public, before it embarks on what could be a massive influenza H1N1 vaccination program, reports the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), at the University of Minnesota.
The CDC will host 10 public engagement meetings to receive input on whether the nation’s vaccination plan should be a giant, comprehensive effort or one of a more modest scale, reports CIDRAP.
CDC sets H1N1 flu shot priority list; take a number please
The CDC yesterday established the pecking order for those individuals first in line to receive the vaccine for novel influenza A H1N1.
There are 160 million of them, since the government doesn’t think it will have enough doses initially to vaccinate every person in the U.S., according to a report by the NPR Health blog.
Don’t worry; healthcare workers make the first cut.
Time for Feds to turn to ATD standard
Unlike Las Vegas, what happens in California doesn’t necessarily stay to California.
The July 20 issue of Inside OSHA reports that the House Appropriations Committee would like to see OSHA develop an airborne transmissible disease (ATD) standard in fiscal 2010 similar to the one recently approved in California.
Profiting from H1N1
Swine flu may be the goose the lays the golden respirator for 3M.
The company which is a major manufacturer in providing N95 disposable respirators for protection from novel influenza H1N1 will invest $20 million to increase production—upping the capacity worldwide by 10 percent—reports Bloomberg, July 23.
Ask the expert: Trainer qualifications for fit testing
Q: Who would be qualified to do N95 respirator fit testing in our practice?
A: OSHA does not have a certification requirement for fit test training, only that the person be familiar with one of the two acceptable fit test methods as well as the limitations of the models of respirators being tested:
CDC says take these 10 steps to prepare your medical office for flu
Nothing beats a top-10 list for disseminating information that readers would otherwise gloss over. Why even this blog has resorted to this decimalization practice on occasion.
Recently, the CDC added to the wealth of novel influenza H1N1 information with “10 Steps You Can Take: Actions for Novel H1N1 Influenza Planning and Response for Medical Offices and Outpatient Facilities.” Facilities covered by this CDC guidance include doctor offices, outpatient/ambulatory clinics, outpatient surgery centers, urgent care centers, physical therapy/rehabilitation offices or clinics, and offices that provide psychological, dental, pediatric, chiropractic and other clinical services.
In your face on flu facemask protection
There is a nasty situation brewing for a California hospital because workers and management don’t see eye-to-eye—better make that face-to-face—on protection from pandemic influenza.
Nurses at Sutter Solano Medical Center, Vallejo, CA, have appealed to Cal/OSHA saying the hospital is miserly about providing N95 respirators and is inadequately isolating suspected novel influenza A H1N1 patients, reports the Times Herald, July 15.
It’s official; CA adds ATD standard
As an update to a previous post, the California aerosol transmissible disease (ATD) standard becomes effective August 5 when the it will be added to the California Code of Regulations as Title 8, section 5199, according to a July 7 Cal/OSHA news release.
Medical Environment Update—Just-in-time fit testing offers quick, easy solution
The influenza outbreak this spring served as wake-up call for respiratory protection plans, reports the July issue of Medical Environment Update.
When influenza A H1N1, or swine flu, hit Mexico and subsequently the United States, there were two priorities for safety officers healthcare facilities:
- Mitigate the spread of disease
- Ensure protection of healthcare workers so they felt safe to come to work
For many facilities, that meant developing a way to quickly fit test employees for N95 respirators.
