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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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One pressure ulcer can cost as much as your entire budget for new patient handling equipment. That alone is a reason to create a safe patient handling program that can accommodate patients of size, whether or not your hospital performs bariatric surgery.
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If you've implemented safe patient handling but serious musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) injuries persist at your hospital, perhaps you haven't gone far enough. Employees in many nonpatient care areas also face significant risks.
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Although tuberculosis has reached an all-time low in the United States, the persistence of TB globally including extensively drug-resistant (XDR)-TB means that U.S. hospitals must remain vigilant to prevent spread of the disease, public health experts say.
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Cost considerations may stymie an effort to make sure that all hospital employees are immune to measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR).
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Influenza virus particles remain suspended in the air, which suggests that the virus may be transmitted by an airborne route.
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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.
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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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Should you spend the money for ...?
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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.
