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How do you know if your needlestick prevention program is working? A decrease in injuries is a good barometer but sometimes that could reflect a lack of reporting rather than an improvement in safety.
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One employee comes into your office with back strain due to patient lifting. Another is identified by the wellness program as having uncontrolled high blood pressure. Those two issues may seem completely unrelated. But with its WorkLife Initiative, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is urging employers to integrate workplace safety with personal health promotion.
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They say necessity is the mother of invention. But for health care providers, the inspiration for new safe patient handling devices has come from pain and discomfort and the desire to protect their colleagues from injury.
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Major reform of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration may be delayed by the ailing economy, but it is inevitable as the agency needs to adapt to the workplace realities of the 21st century, according to the former heads of OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
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On the floors of United Hospital in St. Paul, MN, the people in tan pants and a black scrub top stood for safety. Twice a month, they donned the outfits and walked the halls as "safety coaches," observing practices, investigating injuries, and suggesting solutions.
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The hazards of working with chemotherapeutic agents aren't always obvious. While pharmacists mixing the agents work in a biological safety cabinet, nurses administering medication and housekeepers cleaning a patient's room must use personal protection. Bodily fluids may be especially hazardous because the drugs become concentrated in the urine.
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Particulate respirators - a controversial step beyond common surgical masks - are now mandated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to protect health care workers from acquiring H1N1 pandemic influenza A from patients. With respirator shortages feared, "good-faith efforts" by health care employers will be recognized by OSHA, which nevertheless is warning that citations and fines may result from inspections that will be primarily prompted by employee complaints.
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Employers can have an impact on employee's lifestyle choices through a variety of workplace interventions. Here are some identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its LEAN Works program:
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The nation's rising rate of obesity has required hospitals to rethink patient care, including different beds and lift equipment. But obesity also poses issues for hospitals as employers.
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Looking at the historically low compliance numbers surrounding hand hygiene, Stephen Weber, MD, Joint Commission consultant and chief health care epidemiologist at the University of Chicago Medical Center, can only shake his head.
