Hospital Employee Health
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Caring for Our Caregivers Initiative Helps Healthcare Workers Meditate
A nonprofit psychology group has launched the Caring for Our Caregivers initiative, distributing computer tablets with meditation and wellness exercises to help healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has exacerbated the longstanding issues of staff burnout in healthcare, adding elements of fear that may lead to post-traumatic stress disorder.
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Healthcare Workers Holding the Line Against Pandemic
The nation’s healthcare workers are grimly holding the line against the worst pandemic in a century. Those who survive may pay a mental health price, a “moral injury” not unlike soldiers returning from war, mental health experts warn. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement is addressing these current and looming issues through a series of webinars and papers on “psychological PPE."
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Uproar as CDC Scales Back COVID-19 Testing
In a move widely seen as further evidence the pandemic response has been politically undermined, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently revised SARS-CoV-2 testing guidelines, de-emphasizing the need to test asymptomatic people who have been in contact with a case of COVID-19.
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Reprocessing Respirators too Often May Damage Function
As desperate times require desperate measures, many hospitals have adopted reprocessing methods to reuse N95 respirators designed for single use. A recent study on some of these decontamination techniques revealed respirator efficacy may be compromised if they are reprocessed too often.
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New Tuberculosis Testing Guide Supplements CDC Recommendations
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dropped annual tuberculosis screening recommendations for healthcare workers last year, saying the disease continues to decline nationwide and healthcare workers appear to be at no greater risk than the general public. However, there are workers who could be exposed at work or in the community, including those from countries with endemic tuberculosis who can be offered new treatments for latent infection.
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What Is the Role of Airborne Transmission in COVID-19 Pandemic?
In the absence of aerosol-generating procedures, the public health consensus has been that large droplet particles emitted by a patient do not travel beyond six feet. However, studies have shown that smaller particles can travel farther distances, although there is some question whether they are infectious.
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‘Masks Work’: CDC Urges Public to Follow Healthcare Worker Example
Public health officials are citing a hospital study on the efficacy of mask use among healthcare workers and patients in preventing COVID-19 transmission to support recommendations recommendations for universal masking in the community.
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Simulation Can Improve Staff PPE Safety
It is important for healthcare workers to learn and practice the correct way to wear personal protective equipment. One helpful technique is to use medical simulation.
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Hospital Uses N95 Reprocessing System
A lack of personal protective equipment, including N95 respirators, was one of the major reasons why hospitals nationwide closed their operating rooms to elective surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic. A new study suggests a solution that involves disinfecting N95s so they can be safely reused.