Infection Control Today Magazine

Occupational Health

OSHA Explores Infectious Exposure Issues

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is continuing to examine occupational exposure to infectious agents in healthcare settings, and members of the infection prevention and healthcare epidemiology communities are weighing in with their perspectives as ...More
January 6, 2012
Posted in Articles, Policies and Practice, PPE & Standard Precautions
Oncology Nurses Who Shun PPE are Exposed to Toxic Drugs

Nearly 17 percent of nurses who work in outpatient chemotherapy infusion centers reported being exposed on their skin or eyes to the toxic drugs they deliver, according to a study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. The study surveyed 1,339 oncology ...More
December 20, 2011
Posted in News, PPE & Standard Precautions
Strict Policy Raises Hospital's Worker Flu Vaccination Rate Above 90 Percent

A California hospital raised its employee influenza vaccination rate above 90 percent by shifting from a voluntary vaccination program to one mandating all healthcare workers either get vaccinated or wear a mask at work for the entire flu season (December through March). A ...More
December 12, 2011
Posted in News, Infections & Pathogens, Policies and Practice
APIC Supports Mandatory Influenza Vaccination of Healthcare Workers

In honor of National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW) Dec. 4-10, 2011, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) urges the public to get vaccinated against the seasonal flu. APIC encourages and supports mandatory influenza vaccination ...More
December 7, 2011
Posted in News, Policies and Practice
Californians for Patient Care Calls for Mandatory Flu Vaccine for All Healthcare Workers

Carmella Gutierrez, president of Californians for Patient Care, says that the call to action has been made by the California Department of Public Health, the California Hospital Association, the California Medical Association, the California Association of Physician Groups, ...More
December 6, 2011
Posted in News, Infections & Pathogens
OSHA Soliciting Public Comments on BBP Standard Information Collection Requirements

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is requesting public comments concerning its proposal to extend the Office of Management and Budget's approval of the information collection requirements specified in the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (29 CFR ...More
November 17, 2011
Posted in News
The Problem of Presenteeism

Colleagues who work with runny noses, sore throats and clammy skin are as seasonal as the flu. Yet are sick employees workplace troopers or are they insecure about their jobs? A new study from Concordia University, published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, ...More
November 17, 2011
Posted in News, Infections & Pathogens
Hospital Safety Climate Linked to Both Patient and Nurse Injuries, Study Reveals

A safe working environment for nurses is also a safe environment for the patients in their care, according to a new study led by public health researchers at Drexel University. Researchers, led by Dr. Jennifer Taylor, an assistant professor in Drexel’s School of Public ...More
November 7, 2011
Posted in News, Policies and Practice
OSHA Most Frequently Cites ASCs for Bloodborne Pathogen Violations

Although more than half of the surgeries in the U.S. are performed inambulatory care centers, ambulatory surgery center (ASC) resources and safety oversight may lag significantly behind those of their hospital counterparts. In the past four years, the Occupational Safety ...More
November 1, 2011
Posted in News, Infections & Pathogens
Ensuring Occupational Health: A Shared Partnership

Occupational health in the healthcare environment sounds simple -- find ways to reduce the transmission of infections from patients to healthcare personnel and from personnel to patients, according to a document from the CDC's HICPAC in 1998. But more than a decade later, ...More
October 14, 2011
Posted in Articles, Infections & Pathogens, Policies and Practice