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Minnesota opts for early expansion of Medicaid

Minnesota faces a projected state budget deficit of $5 billion for the next biennium and increased program enrollment and health care costs in Medical Assistance, Minnesota's Medicaid program, reports David Godfrey, Minnesota state Medicaid director.

If states opt to ignore Medicaid expansion, are feds' hands tied?

If a state doesn't institute the Medicaid expansion included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), that state would no longer be eligible for federal Medicaid funds, just as it would not be eligible if it didn't cover children up to the current mandatory levels, says Edwin Park, vice president for health policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, DC.

There's the rub: The risk of sleepy surgeons

Just as hospitals are set to comply with new restrictions on medical resident hours to reduce fatigue, a leading sleep expert is questioning the schedules that could lead to sleep deprivation among practicing surgeons.

UPMC's fines policy on hand hygiene

Non-physician staff. Anyone found to be (a) noncompliant with infection control measures (does not wear appropriate personal protective equipment, observe hand hygiene practices, or clean equipment such as stethoscopes as expected) after being asked to do so and pertaining to MDR Ab patients, or (b) uncooperative with monitoring personnel will be sent home immediately.

No hand hygiene? It could cost you

At the first sign of nosocomial spread of Acinetobacter baumannii, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Presbyterian took a bold stance. Hospital employees and physicians would be held accountable for their hand hygiene.

Jt. Comm. Proposes 90% flu shot goal

Proposed changes in a Joint Commission infection control standard may accelerate the trend toward mandatory influenza vaccination policies.

OSHA, NIOSH, et al blogs, tweets, tubes

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health: Science blog (www.cdc.gov/niosh/blog/), Twitter (twitter.com/niosh/), Flickr (www.flickr.com/photos/niosh/), YouTube (www.youtube.com/user/NIOSHSafetyVideos), Facebook and MySpace.

OSHA: Infectious disease standard still on table

Hospitals aren't doing enough to protect their employees from infectious diseases, U.S. Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) administrator David Michaels, PhD, MD, told employee health professionals in a recent Webinar for members of the Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare (AOHP).