Hospital Employee Health – March 1, 2008
March 1, 2008
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Aging of baby boomers may cause a work comp boomlet in health care
As the Baby Boom ages into an elderly boom, and demand for long-term and home health care soars, health care employees face changing realities at work. You can expect rising workers' compensation claims. Aging employees may need accommodations to stay in patient care. And keeping older workers will be a challenge.Facts about aging workers
In a physically demanding job, how do older workers fit in? Will they be more likely to be injured on the job? Not necessarily, according to an analysis by UnumProvident, a disability insurer based in Chattanooga, TN.Hospitals discover the value of healthy HCWs
Your employees have devoted their lives to caring for others, but unfortunately, they often aren't very good at taking care of their own health. They may be sedentary, or obese, or they have undiagnosed hypertension or high cholesterol. Those health risk factors equate to rising medical costs and a greater risk of injury.Paying for good health brings a big payback
Survey your employees about their health status, and the results you find may be eye-opening. Sutter Health, a Sacramento, CA-based health system, discovered that 30% of its employees were obese and an equal number were overweight.Final word: Reuse of tube holders is prohibited
Those holdouts who still reuse blood tube holders, take notice: You are in violation of the Bloodborne Pathogen Standard and may be cited by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.Can annual fit-tests be streamlined?
Fit-testing of N95 filtering facepiece respirators could become significantly quicker under a new protocol proposed by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.Union nurses exempt from mandatory flu shots
Nurses won the final round of litigation over the mandatory flu vaccination program at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle. They cannot be required to have the vaccine as a condition of employment.States loosen HIV testing laws on patient consent
Obtaining source patient consent for HIV testing after a bloodborne pathogen exposure may slowly be getting easier.Noise in the kitchen tops recommended level
Dishes are churning in the dishwasher, metal utensils are clanging against pots, the radio is blaring, and someone is running the blender and an electric can opener. The noises in a hospital kitchen can be a cacophony as loud as a rock concert. But do they add up to an occupational hazard?The Joint Commission Update for Infection Control: Joint Commission ups the ante on infection prevention
The Joint Commission has broadly expanded its emphasis on infection prevention in proposed 2009 patient safety goals that recommend specific strategies to fight a veritable "murderers' row" of health care-associated infections (HAIs).The Joint Commission Update for Infection Control: Proposed safety goals call for specific practices
The Joint Commission's proposed 2009 National Patient Safety Goals include the following new emphasis on infection prevention:CNE Qbjectives/Questions