Hospital Employee Health
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Vaccine May Not Cover H3N2 — Is It Time for Universal Flu Shot?
A potential mismatch between the current flu vaccine and a strain of H3N2 influenza that has caused severe infections in the Southern Hemisphere suggests this may be a harsh season in the United States and underscores the need for new vaccine production methods, public health officials emphasized in a recently published commentary.
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Healthcare Workers Fired for Refusing Flu Shots
A hospital system in Minnesota has fired approximately 50 healthcare workers for refusing flu shots, igniting a battle with a nurses’ union that is filing grievances to restore personnel to their jobs.
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NIOSH to Focus on Musculoskeletal Injuries
Healthcare workers are among the occupational groups most at risk for musculoskeletal injuries, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health announced in a series of blog posts on these all-too-common harms.
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Evidence That Working ‘Bare Below the Elbows’ Protects Patients
Experimental evidence supporting the concept of healthcare workers working “bare below the elbows” to prevent transmission of pathogens to patients via long sleeves was recently presented in San Diego at the IDWeek 2017 conference.
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Homicide at Hopkins: Healthcare Workers Seek Solace in Aftermath
A recent shocking act of violence at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore quickly underscored the importance of the hospital’s state-of-the art peer responder program: Resilience In Stressful Events (RISE).
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The Patient’s Tale: A Victim of Drug Diversion
The story of Lauren Lollini and Kristen Parker is a cautionary tale that healthcare workers tempted to divert drugs should consider.
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CDC: 60,000 Died of Opioid Overdoses in 2016
The nation’s expanding opioid epidemic has many ramifications for healthcare facilities, including the threat of violence by addicts seeking care, exposure of healthcare workers to powerful narcotics, and the potential for street opioids to exacerbate the longstanding problem of drug diversion by healthcare workers.
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Drug Diversion Rampant as Opioid Epidemic Explodes in Communities
A community opioid addiction problem of such staggering scale certainly adds another permutation to the hidden epidemic of drug diversion by healthcare workers.
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Emerging Fungus Can Colonize Skin for Months
Employee health professionals should be aware of an emerging new multidrug-resistant fungal “superbug,” Candida auris. This pathogen spreads more like bacteria than fungi and can colonize the skin for prolonged periods, the CDC reports.
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If You Have a Needle Safety Device, Activate It
In 56% of needlesticks involving safety devices, the protective mechanism was not activated, the International Safety Center's Exposure Prevention Information Network reports.