Hospital Employee Health – October 1, 2005
October 1, 2005
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Pandemic fears raise stakes for hospital administrators
For hospitals that want to create their own stockpile of Tamiflu as a part of pandemic influenza preparedness, infectious disease expert Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH, has one comment: "Good luck." -
New vaccine shows promise against H5N1 influenza
A new vaccine against H5N1 avian influenza appears to be safe and effective, according to early research results. And health care workers may be among the first candidates for the vaccine, experts say. -
AOHP ‘on a mission' to educate EHPs
At BJC Healthcare in St. Louis, people began to amass, seeking prophylaxis against an emerging infection. Some at the hospital had small children in tow. Some had elderly parents with Alzheimer's disease. Some couldn't speak English. Healthy adults were ushered to an area marked with green, pediatrics to yellow, and those with special needs to red. -
Are your HCWs using the right respirator?
Are you providing your employees with adequate respiratory protection? Too often the answer is no, some respiratory protection experts worry. But matching the right device to the hazard remains a difficult task, fraught with conflicting guidance. -
Ergonomic efforts move to the states
Texas has become the first state to require safe patient handling programs in hospitals. That milestone has captured national attention as other states consider their own versions of a safe patient handling mandate. -
Undiagnosed TB among HCWs raises concern
A labor and delivery nurse at Northside Hospital in Atlanta went to work with active tuberculosis for about three months, exposing 37 newborns, about 160 other patients, and colleagues. Based on news reports, she was the third nurse in two years to continue to work while having active TB. One nurse in Virginia died of undiagnosed TB. -
Tough training rules for TB skin tests
Effective tuberculin skin testing relies on the proper administration of the test. -
Nursing homes dominate OSHA's hazard list
Twenty-eight hospitals and about 800 nursing homes will receive comprehensive inspections from the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) because of high injury rates.