Hospital Employee Health – December 1, 2009
December 1, 2009
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OSHA looks for 'good-faith efforts' in enforcing N95 respirator use with H1N1
Faced with the prospect of a citation by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, hospitals are adjusting to the updated federal guidance to use fit-tested N95 respirators when caring for 2009 H1N1 patients.CDC and OSHA: Use hierarchy of controls to protect HCWs
In its updated guidance on infection control measures and 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urges health care facilities to use a hierarchy of controls and provides examples of measures they should take.Ill HCWs can return 24 hours after fever subsides
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offered additional guidance on policies related to exposed or ill health care workers:NIOSH seeks info on worker deaths from H1N1
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) wants to know about cases of serious illness or fatality related to novel H1N1 among health care workers.OSHA steps up inspections of record keeping
The new focus on record keeping by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration will not target hospitals, but hospital employers still should be prepared for greater scrutiny of their OSHA 300 logs, according to an expert in workplace safety compliance.Two-thirds of hospital workers accept vaccine
In an intense effort to improve influenza vaccination rates, more hospitals and health systems are moving toward mandatory policies for immunizing health care workers. But a closer look at vaccination rates reveals that hospitals are actually already vaccinating almost two-thirds of their employees (63%), while vaccinations lag at nursing homes and ambulatory care centers.Workplace is the target for 'obesity prevention'
The nation's rising rate of obesity has required hospitals to rethink patient care, including different beds and lift equipment. But obesity also poses issues for hospitals as employers.CDC: 'Promising practices' encourage healthy behavior
Employers can have an impact on employee's lifestyle choices through a variety of workplace interventions. Here are some identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its LEAN Works program:OSHA enforcing N95 respirators for HCWs treating H1N1 flu patients
Particulate respirators - a controversial step beyond common surgical masks - are now mandated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to protect health care workers from acquiring H1N1 pandemic influenza A from patients. With respirator shortages feared, "good-faith efforts" by health care employers will be recognized by OSHA, which nevertheless is warning that citations and fines may result from inspections that will be primarily prompted by employee complaints.Joint Commission Update for Infection Control: Transformers: Joint Commission's center debuts with infection prevention project
Infection prevention is a top priority of an ambitious new quality improvement effort that could lead to new accreditation standards for the nation's hospitals, says Mark R. Chassin, MD, MPP, MPH, president of The Joint Commission.Joint Commission Update for Infection Control: Joint Commission: Patient safety is in your H.A.N.D.S.
A hand hygiene project launched at The Joint Commission's Center for Transforming Healthcare cites the following problems and solutions on hand hygiene:Joint Commission Update for Infection Control: Sentinel Event Alert pairs leadership and safety
The fact that The Joint Commission had to recently issue a Sentinel Event Alert underscoring leadership's critical role in patient safety and quality care is "somewhat sad," notes Ronald B. Goodspeed, MD, MPH, FACP, FACPE, an instructor on health care management in the department of health policy and management, Harvard School of Public Health and former president of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors.Hand hygiene: Time to report individual rates?
Looking at the historically low compliance numbers surrounding hand hygiene, Stephen Weber, MD, Joint Commission consultant and chief health care epidemiologist at the University of Chicago Medical Center, can only shake his head.