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OSHA Healthcare Connection

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OSHA Healthcare Connection

Issue 6, February 7, 2012

• OSHA adds free online respiratory protection videos

  OSHA announced its new respiratory protection video web page, January 31.

• Safety officer tip: Enjoy recordkeeping exemptions, while you have them

  While hospitals and long-term care facilities are busy this month posting workplace injuries to...

• Editor’s choice: You are disinfecting that scope with what?

  Some healthcare facilities have strange ideas about what constitutes appropriate decontamination.

• Ask the expert: Source patient testing after needlestick injury

  Q: When must we obtain testing consent from the source individual after an employee needlestick...

• Weekly poll: Safety on Super Bowl Monday

  Does Super Bowl Monday affect safety in your healthcare facility or unit?

Issue 5, January 31, 2012

• GHS review delayed

  The much-anticipated chemical labeling change to the Hazard Communication Standard will take a bit...

• AORN nixes multidose vials among other medication recommendations

  The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses hopes two new recommendations will prompt...

• Colorado considers mandatory flu shots

  The Colorado State Board of Health will vote next month on whether to mandate flu shots for...

• Ask the expert: ASC, MSDS, and hazardous drugs

  Q: Is an ambulatory surgery center required to keep an MSDS file for the medications that are used...

• Weekly poll: Yes or no on mulitdose vials

  Do you agree with the AORN recommended practice to discontinue the use of multidose medication...

Issue 4, January 24, 2012

• Study: Workplace exposures put nurses at risk for lost pregnancies

  A study appearing in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology raises concerns about common...

• Editor’s choice: Infection prevention plan for outpatient oncology settings

  A new “plug and play” infection control plan that allows oncology clinics to get up to...

• Ask the expert: Top 10 questions for 2011

  Want to know about compliance on bloodborne pathogens training, TB skin testing, emergency eyewash...

• Weekly poll: Workplace safety and performance evaluations

  How important is workplace safety in the written performance evaluations for employees in your...

Issue 3, January 17, 2012

• ANA survey: Workplace safer for nurses

  A survey by the American Nurses Association shows that overall workplace safety has improved...

• Viewing the film Puncture

  The needlestick injury film Puncture is availalabe through DVD rental/purchase or online streaming.

• Editor’s choice: Responsibility for performing the weekly checks of eyewash stations

  Check out “In your eyes – the light, the heat … the chemicals?” by Steve...

• Ask the expert: Gloves for injections

  Q: In researching OSHA guidelines, I found that wearing gloves during an injection is not required...

• Weekly poll: Workplace safety now and then

  Overall, is your healthcare facility a safer place to work than it was 10 year ago?

Issue 2, January 10, 2012

• CDC proposes safer work practices in medical labs

  Experts convened by the CDC have produced guidelines that reinforce a common-sense approach to...

• International study examines infection prevention practices in dental settings

  A study assessing infection prevention practices of dentists in eight countries shows a wide...

• Ask the expert: OSHA safety sharps compliance on pre-filled syringes

  Q: May we use the non-safety needles that come with pre-filled vaccine syringes provided by the...

• Weekly poll: The Feds and healthcare worker mandatory flu shots

  If approved, do think the CDC’s Recommendations on Strategies to Achieve the Healthy People...

Issue 1, January 3, 2012

• OSHA improves the "It’s the Law" poster page

  OSHA has improved the Web page where employers go for information about the posting requirements...

• Elevators are safe, but caution is still required

  It's a question we probably take for granted, but are you exercising safe practices when using an...

• Ask the expert: Who does OSHA fine for not using safety needles, the worker or employer?

  Q: If an employee refuses to use available safety devices, such as safety needles and sharps, who...

• Weekly poll: Prediction on bloodborne pathogens exposures

  How well will your facility do in preventing occupational bloodborne pathogens exposures in 2012?