Hospital Employee Health – March 1, 2010
March 1, 2010
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Fit-test problems raise questions about pandemic N95 respirators
The release of millions of N95 filtering facepiece respirators during the novel H1N1 pandemic has revealed a potentially serious problem in preparedness: N95 respirators have different fit characteristics, and not all of them can be successfully fit-tested on health care's predominantly female work force. -
In search of the perfect HC respirator
Imagine the perfect respirator for health care workers: They wouldn't mind wearing it for an entire shift. They wouldn't have any trouble communicating with each other or with patients. Yet it would protect them from infectious diseases, and it wouldn't cost too much. -
Bullying takes toll on HCWs and patients
Compared with carcinogenic chemicals and infectious diseases, workplace bullying may seem like more of an annoyance than a health risk. -
Joining the CREW builds civility at VA
You can't just mandate a civil workplace. You have to build one. -
Joint Commission offers advice on action steps
The Joint Commission's Leadership standard (LD.03.01.01) includes two elements of performance related to intimidation and bullying: -
HCWs still stuck with nonsafety sharps
Almost 10 years after the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act created a legal mandate for safer sharps, health care workers still are being stuck with convention devices. -
Home health looks for 'backup' plan
Call it the perfect storm: Patients with dementia or serious chronic illness being treated in the home. Rising levels of obesity. Aging health care workers. A lack of safety equipment. -
Steps to take to reduce back injury in home health
These following tips were adapted from "Suggestions for preventing musculoskeletal disorders in home health care workers," published in Home Healthcare Nurse. -
Patient handling may up risk of assault
Here's yet another reason to improve patient handling: Health care workers involved in patient handling tasks may be at greater risk of assaults from patients. -
JCUIC: Joint commission drops controversial patient safety goal
The Joint Commission has dropped a controversial infection prevention patient safety goal that recommended sentinel event investigations of unanticipated patient deaths and serious injuries due to health care-associated infections (HAIs). -
JCUIC: Keys to compliance with the new 2010 MDRO goal
Given that some trace the very founding of hospital infection prevention programs back to the first volleys in the longstanding battle with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), it comes as little surprise that The Joint Commission has made these bugs the focus of a National Patient Goal for 2010.