Safety

Safety Articles by Topic: Infection Control

Tie EC and IC together to create a safe environment

  • Hospital Safety Connection, Issue 34, September 2, 2010

    Joint Commission compliance and survey success depend on effective management of the care...

AHA goes thumbs down on a new OSHA standard

  • OSHA Healthcare Connection, Issue 32, August 10, 2010

    The American Hospital Association submitted a comment to OSHA recommending that the agency not...

Editor's Choice: A Q&A on best-practices for multidose vials

  • OSHA Healthcare Connection, Issue 32, August 10, 2010

    There has been much more attention recently on multidose vials, particularly the expiration date of...

OSHA Healthcare Advisor Poll: Needleless connectors

  • OSHA Healthcare Connection, Issue 32, August 10, 2010

     Does your facility use positive displacement needleless connectors? This week’s poll...

Q&A: X-rays for TB screening

  • OSHA Healthcare Connection, Issue 31, August 3, 2010

    Q: How often do you need a chest x-ray if you test positive to TB? A staff physician believes he...

OSHA Healthcare Advisor Poll: Spiking IV bags

  • OSHA Healthcare Connection, Issue 29, July 20, 2010

    How soon in advance to spike IV bags is a contentious topic among healthcare professionals.

Improperly cleaned dental instruments result in potential HIV exposures

  • OSHA Healthcare Connection, Issue 28, July 13, 2010

    A Missouri VA hospital is being scrutinized for potentially exposing 1,800 veterans to diseases...

When more isn't always better with disinfection

  • OSHA Healthcare Connection, Issue 28, July 13, 2010

    The saying "more isn’t always better" is true in the case of detergents and...

Editor's Choice: Approaching perfection on worker flu shot acceptance rates

  • OSHA Healthcare Connection, Issue 28, July 13, 2010

    In the last few years, Lakeview Medical Center in northwest Wisconsin and BJC Healthcare in St...

AMA worried if your lab coat is safe, for you and patients

  • OSHA Healthcare Connection, Issue 27, July 6, 2010

    At its annual meeting, the American Medical Association recently announced plans to conduct formal...

Criminal charges handed down for Nevada hepatitis C outbreak

  • OSHA Healthcare Connection, Issue 24, June 15, 2010

    In case regulatory agencies like your state health department or CMS don't keep you up at night...

Infectious disease groups appeal to Obama to pull back on N95 enforcement

  • Hospital Safety Connection, Issue 46, November 11, 2009

    Three infectious disease professional associations have written to President Obama, asking him to...

Mac’s Safety Space: OSHA raises the stakes in the N95 respirator debate

  • Hospital Safety Connection, Issue 44, October 28, 2009

    Join Steve MacArthur, safety consultant for The Greeley Company, as he offers advice and best...

The CDC reaffirms N95s for healthcare worker protection against H1N1

  • Hospital Safety Connection, Issue 43, October 21, 2009

    As we first reported last week on our Twitter account and in Mac’s Safety Space, the Centers...

NIOSH questions one method of UV infection control

  • Hospital Safety Center, Issue 10, October 1, 2009

    Ultraviolet-C light, when pointed straight down into a surgical site for infection control...

Healthcare workers rally against mandatory flu shots in NY

  • Hospital Safety Connection, Issue 40, September 30, 2009

    Opposition continues in New York state to a mandatory order that all hospital workers with direct...

Tip of the week: Take our H1N1 vaccine poll

  • Hospital Safety Connection, Issue 37, September 9, 2009

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has put healthcare workers who have contact with...

H1N1: Nurses protest in CA, while regulators push mandatory vaccine in NY

  • Hospital Safety Connection, Issue 33, August 12, 2009

    Controversy is swirling this month around protection measures for healthcare workers from the H1N1...

Tip of the week: Review The Joint Commission's updated info about steam sterilization

  • Hospital Safety Connection, Issue 27, July 1, 2009

    Based on discussions with industry groups, The Joint Commission plans to focus more closely on all...

Epidemiology association suggests respirator use isn’t necessary to protect from H1N1

  • Hospital Safety Connection, Issue 25, June 17, 2009

    Epidemiologists who first promoted respirator use for the current flu pandemic now say it is not...

Nationwide, H1N1 tests hospitals’ emergency response

  • Emergency Management Alert, Issue 19, May 12, 2009

    Health officials in San Diego Count y have begun the preparation for a potential resurgence of the...

Tip of the week: In the wake of TB exposures, check your facility’s isolation rooms for air leaks

  • Hospital Safety Connection, Issue 15, April 15, 2009

    A pediatric physician-in-training who inadvertently saw young patients at three Chicago area...

Tip of the week: Review NIOSH’s recommendations for respirator use during biological incidents

  • Hospital Safety Connection, Issue 14, April 8, 2009

    For those of you involved with emergency planning for potential biological weapons and agents, the...

Mac’s Safety Space: What The Joint Commission says about housekeeping activities

  • Hospital Safety Connection, Issue 14, April 8, 2009

    Join Steve MacArthur, safety consultant for The Greeley Company, as he offers advice and best...

Tip of the week: FDA warns about use of insulin pens for multiple patients

  • Hospital Safety Connection, Issue 12, March 26, 2009

    Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a press release warning healthcare...

Mac’s Safety Space: Wag the magnet: An MRI cleaning tale

  • Hospital Safety Connection, Issue 11, March 18, 2009

    Join Steve MacArthur, safety consultant for The Greeley Company, as he offers advice and best...

Tip of the week: Katie Couric, step up for your shot

  • Hospital Safety Connection, Issue 10, March 11, 2009

    Many of you involved with emergency preparation are familiar with the idea of identifying critical...

Bloodborne remains No. 1, but asbestos jump is notable

  • Hospital Safety Center, Issue 3, March 1, 2009

    Although bloodborne pathogens violations continue to be the top employee safety issue in general...

Tip of the week: Anticipate late-arriving victims following large crashes

  • Hospital Safety Connection, Issue 3, January 21, 2009

    Last week’s plane crash into the Hudson River in New York City provided a call to action to...

Better infection control measures needed in ambulatory care settings

  • OSHA Healthcare Connection, Issue 3, January 20, 2009

    A study by the CDC has pinned unsafe injection practices on 33 outbreaks of hepatitis in U.S...

Upcoming EtO sterilizer rule takes effect in December

  • Hospital Safety Center, Issue 12, December 1, 2008

    You should pay attention to an important upcoming deadline, as a rule mandating that hospitals run...

Tip of the week: Review the CDC's new sterilization recommendations

  • Hospital Safety Connection, Issue 48, November 19, 2008

    Safety committees may want to discuss a new guideline from the Centers for Disease Control and...

Inflatable tents provide quick, safe mobile medical centers

  • Emergency Management Alert, Issue 44, November 18, 2008

    Forget water, just add air.   That’s the new procedure for the inflatable mobile...

Review wipe policies with infection control

  • Hospital Safety Center, Issue 8, August 1, 2008

    A new British study suggests that antibacterial wipes can actually spread "superbug"...

Lessons from an infection control survey apply to you, too

  • Hospital Safety Center, Issue 5, May 1, 2008

    Below are some infection control survey tips that tie into EC concerns or have similar implications...

Beyond patients, MRSA is a big employee concern, too

  • Hospital Safety Center, Issue 3, March 1, 2008

    Mandated protection from Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA, pronounced MER-sah...