New Briefs
New Briefs
On-line education on TB, HCV available from CDC
Employee health professionals can receive free continuing education on hepatitis C through interactive, Internet-based training from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC’s program, "Hepatitis C: What Clinicians and Other Health Professionals Need to Know," provides information on the epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of hepatitis C virus infection. The guide includes study questions and case studies, and CDC is providing free continuing medical and nursing education credits. The guide is available at www.cdc.gov/hepatitis.
CDC also is providing a "Core Curriculum on Tuberculosis" with basic information on TB. Designed primarily for clinicians, the curriculum covers TB trends, identification, treatment, and prevention. It is available at www.cdc.gov/ nchstp/tb/pubs/corecurr.
More states pass safe needle laws
Eleven states have adopted legislation to mandate the use of safer needle devices, and legislation awaits governors’ signatures in Ohio and Alaska.
The new laws mark a victory for organizations that represent health care workers, as lobbying for stronger mandates for safe needle devices has been a priority for them. The following states have passed needle safety laws: California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia. In addition, Iowa legislators passed a bill to study safe needle rules.
Meanwhile, in Congress, a safe needle bill, HR 1899, has gathered more than 180 co-sponsors. "It’s like a firestorm of activity," comments Bill Borwegen, MPH, occupational health and safety director of the Service Employees International Union in Washington, DC.
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OSHA allows on-line filing of complaints
A new "workers’ page" on the Web site of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) makes it easier than ever for employees to file complaints with the agency.
OSHA officials say they don’t know how on-line filing may impact the frequency of work site complaints.
"People who would have called are e-mailing instead," says OSHA spokeswoman Susan Fleming. "We do expect some increase, but we’re not clear at this point what that might be."
Bill Borwegen, MPH, occupational health and safety director of the Service Employees International Union in Washington, DC, lauded the move. "I know it’s been difficult for workers in the past to figure out how to file complaints," Borwegen says. "Anything that could help people gain access to this resource is a step in the right direction."
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