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OSHA Healthcare Connection

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OSHA Healthcare Connection

Issue 51, December 18, 2007

• OSHA surprises PA doctors with house calls

  Doctors’ offices in Pennsylvania have been under the OSHA inspection magnifying glass this...

• Health Service alters drug treatment for occupational HIV exposures

  The U.S. Public Health service has changed recommendations for two drugs used to manage HIV...

Issue 50, December 11, 2007

• Healthcare workers receive sharps safety accolades

  The International Sharps Injury Prevention Society (ISIPS) announced the winners of the 2007 Sharps...

• Physician, pick-up after thyself

  In haste to move into new digs, a McAllen, TX, medical practice left confidential medical records...

Issue 49, December 4, 2007

• OSHA citations for physician practices increase

  The number of citations issued to physician practices by Federal OSHA was up by a third from last...

• Children’s clinic evacuated for mercury spill

  A broken blood pressure device caused the Dickson (TN) Medical Associates Children’s Clinic...

Issue 48, November 27, 2007

• CDC promotes flu shot week

  To encourage vaccination among healthcare workers and other high-risk groups, the CDC has...

• OSHA to employers: Pay for PPE

  In a long-awaited final rule, OSHA made it explicit that employers generally must pay for personal...

Issue 47, November 20, 2007

• Physician offices warned about pandemic hazards

  Family physician practices are not prepared for the infection control measures needed to respond to...

• IAC offers Spanish flu shot declination form

  Obtaining documentation from healthcare workers who decline influenza vaccinations is part of the...

Issue 46, November 13, 2007

• Nurses and aides high on workplace injury list

  Injuries requiring days away from work have decreased, but some healthcare jobs still rank in the...

• Pocket card posted for outpatient superbug

  Need quick yes-no answers on how to identify and treat community-associated methicillin-resistant...

Issue 45, November 6, 2007

• OSHA warns about disinfectants used with electronic medical equipment

  A public health notification identified hazards to patients and healthcare workers when using...

• Joint Commission to study flu tests in physician offices

  The Joint Commission has received funding to assess the effectiveness of using rapid influenza...

Issue 44, October 30, 2007

• Flu expert argues for mandatory vaccination of healthcare workers

  Gregory Poland, MD, director, Vaccine Research Group, Mayo Clinic, made "a strong and spirited...

• NIOSH posts MRSA FAQ for general workplaces

  With methicillin-resistant staph aureus (MRSA) in the spotlight from the recent CDC study, the...

Issue 43, October 23, 2007

• Mountain of medical waste shuts down doctor’s office

  Officials from the Jersey City, NJ Department of Health shuttered a doctor’s office after...

• EPA relaxes waste restrictions on epinephrine salt

  In an opinion posted last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concluded that...

Issue 42, October 16, 2007

• Surgery patients warned about possible hepatitis exposure

  Worries about acquiring infections from dirty syringes have eye surgery patients seeking tests for...

• Spread the word about not spreading infections

  Infection control professionals urge healthcare facilities to use International Infection...

Issue 41, October 9, 2007

• OSHA promotes efforts for drug-free workplaces

  Working drug-free is important to the workplace safety environment and is the focus for...

• CDC revamps online flu resource

  With the influenza season rapidly approaching, the CDC unveiled its redesigned Seasonal Flu Web...

Issue 40, October 2, 2007

• Dry eyes a problem in healthcare

  Healthcare is on the hot list of occupations associated with the medical condition known as dry eye.

• Postal service ups medical waste package weight rules

  Last week, the United States Postal Service (USPS) revised its capacity requirements for mailing...

Issue 39, September 25, 2007

• Patient causes mercury spill; doctor’s office closes

  A patient with roving fingers apparently caused a mercury spill closing a North Port, FL...

• Physician, clothe thyself. . .in short sleeves

  A national campaign to prevent healthcare acquired infections is affecting British physician...

Issue 38, September 18, 2007

• Sharps injuries raise family obligations

  Tiny cuts require good post-exposure decisions for the biggest reasons-our own safety, the...

• Infections abroad: CDC posts safe travel guide

  A new edition of Health Information for International Travel (also known as the Yellow Book) is now...

Issue 37, September 11, 2007

• New smallpox vaccine approved

  As a protection against bioterrorist attacks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved...

Issue 36, September 4, 2007

• Needlesticks strike in all healthcare settings

  Educating workers in all healthcare settings about the hazards of blood exposure from sharps is the...

• Celebration week planned for housekeeping staff

  You can acknowledge the contributions of your environmental services and housekeeping staff by...

Issue 35, August 28, 2007

• OSHA alliance focuses on laser safety

  The Laser Institute of America (LIA) and OSHA renewed an alliance to provide information on...

• WHO calls for cooperation to protect global public health

  More than at any time in the history of the planet, public health security relies on the...

Issue 34, August 21, 2007

• Nominations open for sharps injury prevention leadership

  The Sharps Injury Prevention Award is given each year by the International Sharps Injury Prevention...

• Study: Productivity loss from ill workforce greatly underestimated

  Lost productivity from sick and unhealthy workers costs employers four times the amount spent on...

Issue 33, August 14, 2007

• OSHA posts online healthcare compliance guide

  OSHA has created a new healthcare Web site that collects previously posted occupational safety...

• OSHA reports 123 worker deaths in healthcare

  Though healthcare occupations accounted for only 2% of total U.S. fatal occupational injuries, that...

Issue 32, August 7, 2007

• NIOSH to increase list of hazardous drugs

  The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is considering expanding the list of...

• Crocs booted out at Pennsylvania hospital

  Crocs are now endangered species of footwear in one Pennsylvania hospital.

Issue 31, July 31, 2007

• Asthma risks high among nurses

  Nurses have one of the highest incidents of occupational asthma, according to a study appearing in...

• Mercury spill closes Texas clinic

  Five staff members from a clinic were transported to the hospital because of possible mercury...

Issue 30, July 24, 2007

• House nixes annual fit-test exemption

  It appears that years of fit-testing violation immunity for healthcare facilities will end with the...

• Nation’s flu defense needs to improve

  More than a year after unveiling its pandemic influenza plan, the federal government still faces...

Issue 29, June 17, 2007

• Study calculates blood exposure costs

  A study appearing in the July issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology found that costs...

• OSHA and EPA debut chemical database

  OSHA and the EPA have a database of chemicals found in occupational settings.

Issue 28, July 10, 2007

• Government flu-shot advice targets healthcare workers

  Estimating that less than half of healthcare professionals (HCP) receive flu shots, the CDC’s...

• Study: New surgeons are needlestick-prone

  Not only do surgeons in training have a high incidence of needlesticks, but the majority of...

Issue 27, July 3, 2007

• The CDC releases isolation precautions recommendations

  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the long-awaited guidelines last week...

• Study: Nurses at increased risk for skin disease

  Occupational skin diseases are a hazard in healthcare and nurses report a high incidence of hand...

• Home is where the hazards are

  Home healthcare is one of the fastest growing U.S. industries, and safe working conditions have...

Issue 26, June 26, 2007

• Hepatitis infections linked to NY physician

  New York City health investigators have connected three cases of hepatitis C to an infected...

• Study: One-quarter of healthcare workers lack hepatitis B protection

  Of healthcare workers at risk for hepatitis B exposure, 75% have had the recommended three-dose...

Issue 25, June 19, 2007

• OSHA "letters" in bloodborne pathogens

  With bloodborne pathogens as the most frequent OSHA standard cited against healthcare employers, it...

• What if you gave a flu vaccination party and everybody came?

  Healthcare facilities planning to offer community-wide influenza vaccination clinics this fall can...

Issue 24, June 12, 2007

• Government agency wants comments on safety suture needles

  NIOSH is inviting healthcare workers to comment on the recently issued safety and health...

• Occupational health nurse group renews OSHA alliance

  The American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN) and OSHA have renewed the alliance...

Issue 23, June 5, 2007

• If it’s from OSHA, it’s free

  OSHA reminds employers that advertisements suggesting that workplace posters must be purchased from...

• OSHA: Take care your teen workers

  While the availability of teen workers can be helpful to businesses, OSHA reminds employers that...

Issue 22, May 29, 2007

• Workplace injury prevention kicks off safety month

  The National Safety Council (NSC) encourages businesses to take advantage of its educational...

• Study is optimistic for hepatitis C cure

  Peginterferon, used either alone or in combination with the drug ribavirin, is a potential "cure...

Issue 21, May 22, 2007

• OSHA issues pandemic flu guide for healthcare

  OSHA officials unveiled on May 21 new pandemic influenza recommendations that they say provide...

• Mercury scare evacuates medical office

  Erie (PA) firefighters evacuated a medical practice last week because of a mercury spill.

Issue 20, May 15, 2007

• Respirators approved for public health emergencies

  Respirators for use during public health medical emergencies, such as an influenza pandemic, were...

• Free workplace security posters available

  The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security have made four...

Issue 19, May 8, 2007

• House lawmaker to push for TB fit-testing rule

  Healthcare employers will face more OSHA respirator fit-testing fines if members of Congress have...

• OSHA: Non-English training required when needed

  If employees receive non-English instructions for work duties, then their safety training must be...

Issue 18, May 2, 2007

• CDC report: Young workers more prone to injury

  Workers under 25 years old have a higher rate of occupational injuries than older colleagues...

• Safety officers take a bow

  May 9 is Occupational Safety and Health Professional Day, an opportunity to recognize the ongoing...

Issue 17, April 24, 2007

• Nurse’s blood-exposure tale highlights Worker’s Memorial Day poem

  The story of a nurse who contracted the hepatitis C virus through a needlestick is one of the...

• First bird flu vaccine approved for U.S.

  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 17 approved for human use a vaccine for the H5N1...

Issue 16, April 17, 2007

• Safety agencies issue warning on suture needles

  Warning surgical staff about the high risk of suture needlesticks when safer devices are readily...

• Respirator training 101: What side is up?

  The simple-looking N-95 respirator may not be as easy to wear as it appears a study in the May...

Issue 15, April 10, 2007

• Patient-to-patient hepatitis B transmission reported

  Researchers from the CDC and the New Mexico Department of Health have documented the rare case of...

• Celebrating nurses’ contributions in workplace health and safety

  National Occupational Health Nursing Week, April 16-20, is the time to recognize nurses who are the...

Issue 14, April 3, 2007

• Chemical spill evacuates clinic; sickens workers

  An accidental chemical spill in an East Los Angeles medical clinic caused the evacuation of the...

• Blood exposure reports increase among physicians and lab workers

  While registered nurses bear the brunt of most of the reported occupational bloodborne pathogen...

Issue 13, March 27, 2007

• Survey indicates glove-use risk

  Operating room nurses say that a majority of healthcare facilities in which they work still make...

• CDC: TB at all-time low in U.S.

  While one-third of the world's population is infected with tuberculosis (TB), the 2006 U.S. TB rate...

Issue 12, March 20, 2007

• Relating to coworkers with hepatitis C

  With millions of Americans living with hepatitis C virus (HCV), there may be someone in your...

• UK strengthens screenings for healthcare worker infections

  British healthcare workers will face stricter pre-employment screenings for tuberculosis (TB) and...

Issue 11, March 13, 2007

• Congress to OSHA: No annual fit-test citations

  Make it three years in a row that Congress has prohibited OSHA from spending funds to enforce...

• OSHA renews alliance promoting biologically safe workplaces

  OSHA’s renewed alliance with the American Biological Safety Association (ABSA) on March 1...

Issue 10, March 6, 2007

• Tennessee making a point on sharps injury prevention enforcement

  Reducing sharps injuries in healthcare is the focus of a targeted inspection initiative by the...

• California raising the bar on TB respirator fit testing

  California's Occupational Safety and Health program is working on a rule that would exceed federal...

Issue 9, February 27, 2007

• Public health group urges private pandemic preparedness

  The American Public Health Association (APHA) released recommendations that include how private...

• President ups OSHA budget and inspections

  The requested OSHA budget increase will give the agency $10.4 million more for the federal...

Issue 8, February 20, 2007

• "It's the Law," and it's free

  OSHA revised the notice of employee rights poster that employers are required to display in every...

• Office germs have gender connection

  Even though women’s offices appear neater, they harbor three times the bacterial level found...

Issue 7, February 13, 2007

• OSHA advises employers on influenza pandemic protection

  If an influenza pandemic occurs, employers will play an essential role in both protecting employees...

• FDA restricts endoscope disinfection system

  Custom Ultrasonics, Inc., has signed a consent decree of permanent injunction to stop manufacturing...

Issue 6, February 6, 2007

• OSHA renews effort to prevent injuries to medical sonographers

  OSHA and the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (SDMS) renewed their alliance to protect...

• Study: Healthcare loathe to treat patients with HIV

  Three types of healthcare providers in Los Angeles County showed "surprisingly high rates of HIV...

Issue 5, January 30, 2007

• Infectious disease experts: Get the flu shot or decline, in writing

  All physicians, nurses, and other health workers who care for patients should receive vaccination...

• Microwaves prove sponge-worthy for infection control

  You can add basic infection control to the popcorn popping and left-over "nuking" duties of your...

Issue 4, January 23, 2007

• Michigan outlaws mercury devices

  A Michigan law will prohibit the sale of mercury containing gastrointestinal devices and the sale...

• Safety society advocates for older-worker protections

  As the U.S. workforce ages, employers will need to make safety accommodations for employing older...

Issue 3, January 16, 2007

• Occupational health experts name top threats to healthcare workers

  Exposure to blood, injuries from lifting patients, and breathing in airborne infectious agents...

• Report: Canadian health system failed to protect workers from SARS

  Widespread failures in Ontario’s health system failed to protect healthcare workers during...

Issue 2, January 10, 2007

• OSHA interpretation letters address workplace violence hazards

  OSHA letters of interpretations addressing guns in the workplace and violence in nursing homes...

• Report calls for more aggressive TB test for foreign-born residents

  Current guidelines for preventing tuberculosis (TB) infections should be changed to reclassify all...

• Report calls for more aggressive TB test for foreign-born residents

  Current guidelines for preventing tuberculosis (TB) infections should be changed to reclassify all...

Issue 1, January 2, 2007

• Working at all cost is ill-advised

  Dragging yourself to work when you have the flu can hurt your employer more than if you call in...

• UK reports increase in worker bloodborne infections

  Occupational bloodborne infections in the British healthcare system have increased nearly 50% from...