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A recent survey of 30 metropolitan areas showed a 30% increase from 2014 to 2017 in the average wait time for a new patient to be seen by a doctor. Did the subset of workers seeking treatment for workers comp (WC) injuries experience the same delays? A recent study by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) yielded some surprising results. The NCCI research was designed to answer the question: “Did the Affordable Care Act (ACA) stress the healthcare delivery system and make it more difficult for workers compensation claimants to get medical care?”

Employees of a Georgia contractor who were installing water and sewer lines had no safe means to enter and exit the excavation in which they were working, nor did the trench have a protective cave-in system. Those were among the excavation hazards OSHA investigators found at a Corley Contractors, Inc. worksite in Acworth, Georgia. The Dallas, Georgia-based company faces $106,078 in penalties.

From a symphony orchestra in Maine to an architectural firm in Hawai’i, eight organizations across the United States and Canada have been named winners of the American Psychological Association’s (APA) 2019 Psychologically Healthy Workplace Awards. The annual award recognizes employers who implement workplace practices, backed by psychological science, that advance employee health and well-being while increasing performance and productivity.

In the wake of two airline crashes and an emergency landing involving the Boeing 737 MAX plane, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has established what it says is an expert Special Committee to review the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) procedures for certifying new aircraft. A March 10, 2018 crash involving an Ethiopian Airlines flight claimed the lives of all 157 people aboard. The October 29 crash of a Lion Air plane into the Java Sea off Indonesia killed its 189 passengers and crew. Both incidents occurred shortly after takeoff.

Haws® is pleased to announce that Quality and Compliance Manager, Melanie Mayer has been recognized by EHS Daily Advisor for Young Safety Professional Excellence. Melanie has led many efforts to enhance safety and quality programs at Haws. Such activities include managing safety and quality teams, ensuring that safety standards and practices are communicated and adhered to by all employees regardless of their title, developing a LEAN Manufacturing internal training program, driving the SHARP (Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program) certification, to name a few.

ACGIH® offers two of its most popular reference resources in one product! The just released 2019 TLVs® and BEIs® with 7th Edition Documentation, CD-ROM offers access to:

The 2019 Supplement to the Documentation of the Threshold Limit Values and Biological Exposure Indices, 7th Edition is now available.

The growing enthusiasm for the annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction has given rise to a new, similar event: the National Safety Stand-Up for Grain Safety Week. It’s happening this week. The event is designed to raise awareness about the hazards in the grain handling industry, which include engulfment/entrapment; slip, trip, and fall prevention; mechanical hazards; machine guarding; and lockout/tagout. Demonstrations of those hazards – along with discussions about how to abate them, were held at the Asmark Institute Agricenter in Bloomington, Illinois yesterday.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has begun testing an experimental drug that could help opioid addicts deal with the cravings that cause them to continue using the dangerous substance. In Phase I of the clinical trial currently underway at the NIH Clinical Center – researchers will study how the compound ANS-6637 is processed in the body when given with another drug that is processed by the same liver enzyme pathway.

To better serve our customers and students, AVO Training Institute has added an additional training location. The new training location is located at Powell Electrical Systems in Houston, Texas and will be hosting a variety of different AVO electrical maintenance and electrical safety training courses.