A skilled nursing facility in Cheyenne, Wyoming has achieved injuries, illnesses and lost days that are dramatically below the average for their industry since it began working with Wyoming OSHA Consultation. From 2016 through 2017, the Davis Hospice Center’s Total Recordable Case Rate (TRC) rate was zero, and their Days Away from Work, Job Transfer and Restriction (DART) rate was also zero. These rates are astounding when discussing the healthcare industry and health and safety challenges they face.

During recent disease outbreaks, most notably the 2014 Ebola epidemic, the importance of effective personal protective equipment (PPE) was emphasized once again. When designed and used properly, PPE can protect healthcare workers from potentially deadly infectious diseases and viruses, such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, Ebola, and HIV.

A newly developed Speak Up™ To Prevent Infection campaign from The Joint Commission focuses on a half dozen ways that you can help to prevent the risk and spread of infection – especially (but not only) in a health care setting. They are:

You may be hearing a lot about measles lately. And all of this news on TV, social media, Internet, newspapers and magazines may leave you wondering what you as a parent really need to know about this disease. CDC has put together a list of the most important facts about measles for parents.

According to new data released by CDC, so far during the 2018-2019 season between about 6 and 7 million people have been sick with flu, up to half of those people have sought medical care for their illness, and between 69,000 and 84,000 people have been hospitalized from flu. This is the first time these estimates— which cover the period from October 1, 2018 through January 5, 2019— are being provided during the flu season.

If you have cancer now or have had cancer in the past, you are at higher risk for complications from the flu. The CDC urges everyone six months of age and older to get a flu vaccine every season – especially those with cancer or a history of cancer because they are at high risk of developing serious flu complications.

In 1997, hundreds of elementary school children in Michigan contracted Hepatitis A from a contaminated strawberry dessert served in the school’s cafeteria. Immediate effects included vomiting, high fevers, body aches, headaches, and abdominal painting. Among the long-term effects: hair loss, fatigue and shingles.

Although an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 adults in the U.S. die from vaccine-preventable infectious diseases or their complications each year, the American Lung Association (ALA) says vaccines have helped reduce the rate of death and disease in the United States.

Improper donning and doffing combined with reuse resulted in more viruses transferred to the hands during scenarios simulating the use of filtering facepiece respirator. The importance of covering a cough or a sneeze to prevent spreading germs to those around us, often using the crook of an elbow, is something that most of us learned before starting school. Healthcare providers typically wear personal protective equipment, such as the filtering facepiece respirator, to protect both themselves and their patients.