Occupational Health Management Archives – April 1, 2011
April 1, 2011
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New opportunities opening for occ health in health care reform
There is no shortage of discussion on how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will change things for patients and providers, but big changes are also in store for occupational health. -
Onsite health programs, wellness to get boost
All signs in health care reform point to preventive incentives. Paul Papanek, MD, MPH, chairman of the board for the San Francisco, CA-based Western Occupational Environmental Medical Association and former chief of the occupational health service for the Kaiser on the Job Program in Los Angeles, expects to see these changes in occupational health as a result of health care reform: -
Don't let soreness turn into full-blown MSDs
It's highly unlikely that a costly piece of machinery would get absolutely no maintenance for years in your workplace. This is what's happening to employees who are exposed over time to risk factors for musculoskeletal diseases, warns Susan Murphey, BS, CECD, president of Essential WorkWellness in Shoreline, WA. -
How to use data to make a case for MSD program
If you only count the musculoskeletal injuries reported in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Form 300, Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, you may be left with insufficient evidence that a prevention program is justified. -
Are too many strain injuries occurring?
If an employee reports shoulder soreness, this could be caused by her job, sports activities she does on weekends, or both. "Risk factors and the mechanism of injury are often both unclear with repetitive strain injuries," says Susan Murphey, BS, CECD, president of Essential WorkWellness in Shoreline, WA. -
Expand occ health role to that of a health coach
Cindy Luebbering, RN, a senior health systems manager and occupational health nurse at the Cincinnati, OH-based Proctor & Gamble Company, says that her goal is to give employees information on how to get healthy, stay healthy, and how to live a full and healthy life if diagnosed with a health condition." -
Mandatory flu shots: Is science strong enough?
Everyone agrees that health care workers should receive the influenza vaccine each year to protect themselves and their patients. -
Injuries drop in OSHA crackdown on OR safety
It is notoriously difficult to convince surgeons to change their methods and tools in the operating room to improve sharps safety. But in Tennessee, intransigence is apt to lead to a citation from the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration. -
Zero in on high-risk, high-cost employees
You probably know, more than anybody else in the workplace, which workers have the greatest potential for positive health changes, says Dawn Stone, RN, a nurse practitioner and former occupational health nurse at Miller's Brewing Company, University of California Los Angeles' Occupational Health Facility and Northrop.