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Hospital Employee Health – February 1, 2012

February 1, 2012

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  • CMS targets employee health in new inspection program

    The status of employee health is rising, but so are the expectations. As part of a heightened focus on reducing hospital infections, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is developing a national survey program that will include interviews with employee health professionals.
  • Know the answers to these questions

    A new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) hospital inspection initiative includes the following questions for employee health professionals regarding prevention of transmission of infections to health care workers. The tool includes these interview questions:
  • HCW flu vaccine rate hits record high

    More hospital employees than ever are receiving the influenza vaccine. A national survey shows that by mid-November, about 78% of them had been vaccinated a rate that is almost double the rate of about five years ago.
  • Joint Commission pushes 90% flu goal

    Beginning in July 2012, The Joint Commission will require hospitals to improve influenza rates annually and to work toward a national goal of 90% flu vaccination of health care workers.
  • Chemotherapy drugs pose hazard — but not for MS

    When three of the 13 nurses on an inpatient oncology unit in Wisconsin were diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, the employees were alarmed: Was something in the workplace triggering MS? An investigation found no relationship between the workplace and MS, but it did result in recommendations about handling hazardous drugs.
  • Surface sampling tests your safety

    Just how clean are your pharmacies and oncology units of contamination from chemotherapy agents and other hazardous drugs? That has been a vexing question, but now several companies are offering testing.
  • Candid camera boosts HCW hand hygiene rates

    Cameras nab you if you run a red light. They keep watch over ATMs, parking lots and airport travelers. And now they are being used to make sure health care workers wash their hands.
  • Task force pushes for 'zero lift' law in NY

    In tough economic times, it's hard to promote laws or regulations that will cost employers money. But what if the money spent ends up saving employers even more? That is the argument that is propelling safe patient handling legislation in New York.
  • Safety tips: Building a better culture

    It takes a team to create a safe workplace not just a committee, but an ongoing collaboration between employee health, safety, risk management, and other professionals. That is the most important advice for reducing workers' compensation claims, says Lori Severson, MS, HEM, ASP, loss control consultant with Lockton Companies of Denver.
  • A sign of change for hand hygiene

    If you want to boost hand hygiene, the right sign can help. Health care workers are more likely to wash up out of concern for patient safety, researchers report.