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Hospitals soon will get a green light from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to install dispensers of alcohol-based hand rubs in hallways. Last year, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) amended its 2000 and 2003 Life Safety Code to allow the convenient use of dispensers and set criteria for their installation, but CMS rules still prohibited the use.
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An employee comes to employee health with blood pressure thats out of control. Another has diabetes and isnt good at managing her diet. Another has a headache from a sinus infection. Is that your problem?
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Never let up. That is what Greenville (SC) Hospital System learned about reducing sharps injuries in the operating room. It takes a sustained effort to keep rates down.
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Following the death of a Virginia hospital nurse from tuberculosis, an article in The Virginian-Pilot (Simpson E, Hardy K. Aug. 1, 2004) raised questions regarding the nurses case. Specifically, how could her illness have gone undetected in a hospital, and should anything be changed to keep such cases from occurring again?
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Here are some frequent questions and answers about needle safety compliance provided by the Safety Institute of Premier Inc., an alliance of 1,700 nonprofit hospitals and health systems based in Oak Brook, IL. More information is available on the Premier web site at www.premierinc.com/safety.
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Under current federal regulations, manufacturers can state that they comply with the ASTM standards but cannot label the boxes with the level of antigenic and total protein. The proposed rule sets maximum allowable protein levels of 1,200 mcg per dm2 and requires labeling of protein content.
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Identification of patients at high risk of, or with documented Mycobacterium tuberculosis disease is to occur at the earliest point in the health care encounter. Avoiding delays in such identification will reduce potential staff and patient exposure to TB.
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Both vincristine and doxorubicin and their metabolites have been associated with allergic reactions when given to patients. The aerosolization of the drug present in the urine may have provided enough exposure for symptoms to develop.
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Current work practices are not adequate to protect health care workers from chemotherapeutic agents and other dangerous drugs, and hospitals need to be more vigilant in their efforts to prevent exposure, according to a hazard alert from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
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Nurses who prepare and administer chemotherapy agents in outpatient settings often dont use the proper gloves or other recommended personal protective equipment (PPE), according to a survey of oncology nurses. Furthermore, few nurses who handle chemotherapeutic drugs received health evaluations that included reproductive and cancer evaluation, the survey found.
