Hospital Employee Health
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Violence Continues as Some Question Need for OSHA Regulation
The reams of research, news reports, and first-hand accounts continue to accumulate, revealing rampant danger in healthcare that grew worse during the pandemic. Yet there remains resistance to an OSHA standard, with few denying there is a problem while others argue a regulation would be duplicative of recommendations that are not working.
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Know HCV Status to Take Effective New Medicines
The prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection is significantly higher in healthcare workers than in the general population. Healthcare workers could access effective medications with few side effects by testing for the virus and pursuing treatment. However, high costs and insurance barriers hinder these efforts.
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Sterile Supply Staff Exposed to Contaminated Droplets and Sprays
Cleaning and reprocessing reusable sterile equipment create droplets and sprays of water that soak healthcare workers and travel as far as seven feet into the decontamination room, researchers reported recently.
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Safe Patient Handling Programs: If Not Now, When?
In a time of lean hospital budgets and staff shortages, the cost-benefit equation tilts heavily in favor of implementing a safe patient handling and mobility program to prevent occupational injuries, retain staff, and improve patient outcomes.
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Make Headway Against Workplace Violence with Data Tracking, Interdisciplinary Initiatives
Two health systems have started several initiatives that attack the problem from different angles. Data show these systems are making a sizable dent in incidents of violence in their EDs and other vulnerable points. These leaders are sharing their roadmaps and best practices so others can benefit.
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ICU Staff Report Severe Moral Distress, But Resources Are Underused
Unresolved ethical concerns not only cause individual moral distress, but can also change the staff relationships and clinical cohesiveness.
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Violence Continues to Threaten Hospital Workers and Patients
Hospitals and other healthcare facilities struggle daily with the threat of violence from patients and visitors, requiring more effort to identify potentially violent people and take steps to prevent injury.
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Peter Hotez Stands Against Antivaxxers
Distinguished scientist and vaccine advocate Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, is battling the antivaccine movement and ubiquitous misinformation campaigns that have science on the run at the cost of thousands of lives annually.
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Is There Racial Tension Among Your Staff?
A sweeping survey on racism by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation yielded some damning findings about nurse-to-nurse racism. A staggering 72% of Black nurses reported experiencing racial discrimination from their own nurse colleagues. The patient level was higher at 88%, but racial incidents involving so many colleagues is disturbing, considering nurses are perennially voted the “most trusted” profession.
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The Face of the ED Boarding Crisis Is a Child’s
The boy was 9 years old, wearing makeshift operating room garb that included cut-off paper scrubs. His parents did not want him. The Department of Social Services said there was nowhere to place him. His last four “homes” had been EDs, including one that kept him for months. Given such tragic incidents, ACEP and the Emergency Nurses Association are aggressively lobbying Congress to address the situation. They gathered on Capitol Hill to underscore the crisis and push for passage of the Improving Mental Health Access from the Emergency Department Act.