Hospital Employee Health – June 1, 2003
June 1, 2003
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U.S. hospitals act to prevent the spread of SARS to health workers
Continued hospital transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Canada raised new questions about infection control precautions and whether those precautions were providing enough protection for health care workers. So far, swift identification of cases and adherence to infection control procedures have prevented widespread infection of U.S. health care workers, as has occurred in Asia and Canada. -
N95 shortage puts hospitals in a bind
A shortage of N95 respirators has forced hospitals to scramble for supplies as they seek to expand their respiratory protection program in response to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). -
Triage nurse acts swiftly to detect SARS
When the elderly woman walked into the newly designed emergency department (ED) at Saint Josephs Hospital in Atlanta, she went directly to the registration desk. A triage nurse greeted her, learned that she had a cough and difficulty breathing, and asked the telltale question: Have you traveled to Asia in the past 10 days? -
Respiratory protection: SARS advice from CDC
This is an excerpt from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance document on the use of respirators to prevent transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). -
Cardiac screening further slows smallpox program
Smallpox vaccinations slowed while some hospitals completed or halted their programs and others re-screened employees for cardiac contraindications. Yet concerns over cardiac problems did not stop some states from moving forward with Phase 2. -
Cardiac contraindications for smallpox vaccination
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued the following statement on cardiac risk factors and smallpox vaccination. -
Vaccine-Related Adverse Events
These are vaccine-related events as of April 18. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta. -
Guest Column: Be alert but not afraid of new privacy rules
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 created anxiety among employee health professionals (EHPs). It shouldnt. Privacy and confidentiality are issues that have long been respected in occupational health. -
Safety success: Sharps injuries are cut in half
Safer sharps led to a dramatic decline in the number of needlesticks, with nurses sustaining about half as many injuries in 2001 as they did in 1993. -
How to make the OR a sharps safety zone
Major advances in reducing sharps injuries have not yet pervaded the operating room, where one out of four sharps injuries takes place. Employee health must be involved in helping change attitudes in the OR to promote safety, sharps safety experts say. -
JCAHO Update for Infection Control: Will the Joint Commission’s unannounced surveys catch infection control professionals off-guard?
Given recent events from emerging infections to the threat of bioterrorism, infection control professionals likely will be prepared for unannounced visits from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. They cant afford not to be. -
JCAHO Update for Infection Control: Infection control and the environment of care
In a special report on infection control and the environment of care, a Joint Commission publication cited the following suggestions as key points and checklists regarding infection control and the environment of care. -
JCAHO Update for Infection Control: Nosocomial infections may be 2004 focus
Reducing the risk of serious nosocomial infections is being considered as a 2004 national patient safety goal by the Joint Commission.