Hospital Employee Health – December 1, 2005
December 1, 2005
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CDC panel: HCWs need not wear N95 facepiece respirators with avian flu
Amid worldwide alarm about the spread of H5N1 avian influenza in bird populations, an advisory panel of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a reassuring message: You don't need to stockpile N95 filtering facepiece respirators. -
Hospitals begin tracking flu declination statements
This year's fall flu vaccine campaign has a new twist at some hospitals -- health care workers signing declination statements if they don't want the vaccine. -
No shortage predicted for flu vaccine: CDC
Hospitals will likely avoid a shortage of flu vaccine this year, even if the shipments arrive in a staged fashion, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported. -
OR becomes last frontier for move to sharps safety
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) has endorsed the use of blunt suture needles and is poised to begin an educational push to reduce one of the most persistent remaining causes of sharps injuries. -
Pre-packaged kits, trays may violate OSHA rule
Violations of the bloodborne pathogen standard are occurring regularly in operating rooms and procedure rooms across the country. The culprit: pre-packaged kits and trays. -
How safety became the norm, not needlesticks
Janine Jagger was working on integrating airbags in cars when her colleagues at the University of Virginia told her about another safety problem: Health care workers stuck with needles were at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS, as well as other bloodborne diseases. -
CDC: Physicians should seek expert advice on PEP
Health care workers are more likely to receive post-exposure treatment after a bloodborne pathogen exposure than they were 10 years ago. -
Letter to the editor:
The CDC's interim guidance regarding personnel protection equipment (PPE) for respiratory infections is confusing because the wrong experts are making selection decisions based on the wrong criteria. -
JCAHO Update for Infection Control: Local heroes: JCAHO says rural areas must be ready to stand alone
As the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina so dramatically showed, the initial community response to a natural disaster or terrorist attack has to be local. -
JCAHO Update for Infection Control: Lucky 13: Key steps to small-town readiness
A recently published planning document by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations outlines 13 essential components of an effective community-based emergency management planning.