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The July horror played out in a Meridian, MS, Lockheed Martin plant was a stark reminder of the ever-present threat of workplace violence. The good news is that a growing number of employers have taken important steps to help reduce the likelihood of such events. The even better news is the increased recognition of the critical importance of employee involvement in prevention and that means all your employees.
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Being able to recharge your batteries is the key to being happy in life or on the job, says Bobby Staten, BSN, MPH, CSP, who employs what she calls motivational humor to help employees learn how to deal with stress. Over the years, Staten has honed the recharging process into five key principles.
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As far back as 1911, scientists associated vibration from hand-held tools with the risk of pain, numbing, and blanching of the fingers, known as vibration white finger. Today, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is pursuing studies to reduce risks of hand-vibration disorders for employees who use jackhammers, chipping hammers, power drills, and other vibrating tools.
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Because of the worldwide concern regarding the spread of viruses, the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) has chosen the prevention of infectious diseases as the focus of its annual Labor Day CheckList.
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To alleviate the problem of social admissions from the emergency department, Northeast Medical Center in Concord, NC, established an ED case management staff and made arrangement with local assisted living facilities to admit patients directly from the ED.
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Before Thomas Hospital in Fairhope, AL, redesigned its case management program, nurses from two separate departments social services and utilization review performed case management-type functions. In 2002, the hospital hired a division director to redesign its case management program and oversee the social work, discharge planning, and utilization review functions.
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The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has slashed the number of standards in the 2004 hospital accreditation program from 508 to 225 as part of the agencys Shared Visions, New Pathways initiative.
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Its one thing to keep everything moving swiftly throughout the ambulatory surgery process, but dont let the quick pace affect the completeness or accuracy of your documentation.
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Do you ever see nurses in your emergency department misusing or wasting supplies, and wish they knew what these items actually cost? Heres a solution: Ask nurses to guess what the ED pays for various common items.
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Before the case management department at Northeast Medical Center in Concord, NC, launched an initiative to cut down on denials, the hospitals rate of avoidable days was as high as 12%. Now, 2½ years later, avoidable days have dropped to 8%.
