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Hospital Safety Center

Issue 6, June 1, 2012 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• OSHA adds GHS to Hazard Communication Standard

  It was only a matter of time, but OSHA has officially revised its Hazard Communication Standard to...

• CMS adopts sections of 2012 Life Safety Code

  A Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) memo released in March offers some flexibility...

• Double-gloving can be both safe and effective

  A study published by the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) in March focused on...

• Past disasters give clues into the recovery process

  When you look back at the major disasters of the last decade, a few come to mind right away. The...

Issue 5, May 1, 2012 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Training mitigates risks of norovirus outbreak

  A norovirus outbreak may enter a hospital unnoticed, but can quickly transform into a hospital's...

• Staff reluctant to respond to radiological disaster

  Fear of the unknown is a common phobia among all demographics. For healthcare workers, the unknown...

• Even outside the ED, workplace violence a risk

  Workplace violence prevention initiatives traditionally focus specifically on the ED, and with good...

• Unclean surgical instruments leads to outbreak

  In April and May 2009, a hospital in Texas found seven surgical site infections (SSI) that occurred...

Issue 4, April 1, 2012 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Decorative fountains pose safety risk for hospitals

  Despite their aesthetic qualities, more hospitals are finding decorative fountains to be a risky...

• Study links workplace chemical exposures to miscarriages among nurses

  It?s no surprise that highly toxic chemicals, found in chemotherapy drugs and sterilizing agents...

• Heat may replace chemicals in the fight against bedbugs

  Bedbugs are an issue that many hospitals encounter, but few want to talk about. Usually the tiny...

• CMS releases updated requirements for machine ­maintenance

  On December 2, 2011, CMS released a statement clarifying hospital equipment maintenance...

• Help! There's a celebrity in my hospital!

  In a perfect world, all patients would be treated equally, regardless of their name, income, or job...

Issue 3, March 1, 2012 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Healthcare workers top injury and illnesses list

  Their jobs revolve around helping people recover from injuries and illnesses, yet healthcare...

• Budget cuts put bioterrorism preparedness programs at risk

  Federal and state budgets have seen cuts of all kinds over the last few years. As it turns out...

• Toeing the line: Unique conditions force psych facilities to focus on safety

  Napa State Hospital, one of California's four staterun psychiatric hospitals, remains under fire...

• Going green can also improve worker safety

  Green initiatives in the hospital environment offer the obvious perks: financial savings, smaller...

• Patient isolation may contribute to delirium

  Delirium is all too common in the hospital setting, particularly among patients who are very sick...

Issue 2, February 1, 2012 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Transitioning toward a tobacco-free campus

  In 1993, nearly two decades ago, The Joint Commission required hospitals to ban smoking indoors...

• CDC compiles document for healthcare immunizations

  In November 2011, the CDC released new guidelines that should be particularly helpful for safety...

• Update: OSHA's consideration of an infectious disease standard

  In July 2011, OSHA held stakeholder meetings to hear comments from leaders in the healthcare...

• New HFAP COO looks at the future of safety and accreditation

  In September 2011, former safety and emergency management consultant Joe Cappiello, BSN, MA, was...

Issue 1, January 1, 2012 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Safety resolutions for 2012

  A new year brings new resolutions, and anyone who has ever made a New Year's resolution knows that...

• Preparing for the unthinkable

  On August 23, 2011, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake unexpectedly struck the Piedmont region of Virginia...

• What's your safety climate?

  Anyone who has worked in a healthcare facility is familiar with the term "culture of...

• Briefings on Hospital Safety 2011 index

  A list of all articles, by category, of 2011.

• AORN identifies weaknesses in bloodborne pathogens compliance

  OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens standard took effect in March 1992 and was designed to protect...