Hospital Employee Health – April 1, 2014
April 1, 2014
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False positives plague TB screening of health care workers
Most of the positive results in routine tuberculosis screening of health care workers are false positives. That statistical artifact is creating headaches for employee health professionals as they try to find the best TB testing method and struggle with unexpected results. -
Vigilance: TB prevention remains a priority
With historically low rates of tuberculosis in the United States and ongoing challenges with TB tests, employee health professionals are understandably frustrated. But the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) has a message: Remain vigilant to prevent occupational risk. -
Wellness programs need their own Rx
Employers are unreliable stewards of their workers' health. Most hospitals and other large employers offer wellness programs, but they struggle to engage the employees who need it most. -
Five ways to improve your wellness program
Employers often struggle to raise participation in a wellness program, especially among those who are most at risk of chronic health conditions. The RAND Corp., based in Santa Monica, CA, researched wellness programs among a wide range of employers and identified these five strategies. -
Resilience training puts chill on burn-out
The best thing you can do for patients may be to take care of your hardest working employees. Burnout not only affects the health and well being of health care workers, but it also leads to medical errors, higher infection rates, and injuries, says J. Bryan Sexton, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry at Duke University in Durham, NC, and director of the Patient Safety Center for the Duke University Health System. -
Creating a road map to better worker health
Creating a safety culture is the holy grail of employee health an environment in which employees have a heightened awareness of safety and a focus on wellness. But how do you get there? -
For this incentive, only teamwork wins
Imagine health as a team activity. What matters most isn't whether one person achieves personal health goals, but how well everyone does as a group. -
Biometric screening is just a first step
Biometric screening is a common entry point for wellness programs. If the screening detects high blood pressure, blood sugar or cholesterol, employees can take steps to avoid serious medical issues. -
Same strains still mean new shots
Next season's trivalent influenza vaccines will contain the same strains as this year's vaccine but it's still important to get the annual flu vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.