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Health care workers may be among those who benefit from the recent spending boost in Washington, DC. The 2009 Omnibus Appropria-tions Bill includes language that directs $3 million to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to fund research into the modes of transmission of influenza and respirators and other personal protective equipment (PPE) that protect health care workers.
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The air is clearing in the nation's operating rooms, as The Joint Commission places a greater emphasis on evacuating smoke from electrocautery procedures.
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A manufacturer of needle removal and disposal devices is seeking to expand the company's marketing niche by appealing to hospitals that are seeking to cut costs.
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As the use of chemotherapeutic agents and hazardous drugs becomes more commonplace, hospitals are placing a new focus on identifying potential reproductive hazards.
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Hospitals struggling to decrease their rates of health care-associated infections such as Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) may want to consider a new strategy: Hiring more staff.
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Exposure to cleaning products, solvents, and disinfectants continues to place nurses at risk for occupational asthma.
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There's a reason the night shift is dubbed "the graveyard shift." Working overnight has been linked to a greater risk of cancer, heart disease, depression, and automobile accidents. That is why Albemarle Hospital in Elizabeth City, NC, has focused wellness efforts on this often-forgotten group of employees.
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Should you spend the money for ...?
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If your hospital administrators think that outsourcing employee health would be cheaper than paying your salary (plus that of a few others), show them the numbers. An in-house program is a much better value than paying the marked-up cost of consultants.
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A cardiothoracic surgeon in Israel specializing in open-heart procedures was found to be HIV-positive in January 2007 during evaluation for fever of recent onset, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.