sharps injuries

Residents’ long hours may be reinstated

February 7, 2017

A proposal to roll back work hour limits for medical residents has drawn an angry response from safety advocates, who say longer hours lead to more errors, endangering the safety of both residents and the patients they care for.

SoCal hotel disputes employee safety claims

May 11, 2016

The hotel that is the subject of a complaint filed by some of its housekeeping employees with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) was “quite surprised” to learn of the concerns in the complaint.

Hotel housekeepers alarmed by bloodborne pathogen exposure

May 9, 2016

Housekeeping department employees of the Sofitel Los Angeles have filed a complaint with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) alleging that they do not have the proper equipment to safely handle linen contaminated with blood or to remove used syringes and needles they encounter in guest rooms.

Bloodborne pathogen exposure, safe patient handling among healthcare worker safety priorities

AOHP releases 2015-2017 Public Policy Statement

August 20, 2015

On behalf of healthcare workers across the nation and beyond, the Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare (AOHP) has released its 2015-2017 Public Policy Statement, which specifically targets health and safety concerns in healthcare.

Public health

WHO calls for worldwide use of "smart" syringes

February 25, 2015

Use of the same syringe or needle to give injections to more than one person is driving the spread of a number of deadly infectious diseases worldwide. Millions of people could be protected from infections acquired through unsafe injections if all healthcare programs switched to syringes that cannot be used more than once.

West Virginia prison employees risk bloodborne pathogen exposure

August 13, 2014

Correctional officers and other staff at McDowell medium-security federal prison in Welch, West Virginia were potentially exposed to bloodborne pathogens and other workplace safety and health hazards, according to OSHA, which has issued notices to the Federal Correctional Institution at McDowell, a part of the U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons.

VA hospital workers exposed to infectious diseases

-But OSHA can't issue fines to a government agency

January 22, 2014

Workers at a Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital in Oregon were potentially exposed to infectious diseases and sharps injuries, according to OSHA inspections conducted at the facility in April as part of a Local Emphasis Program. The agency has issued a notice of unsafe and unhealthful working conditions for 17 violations found at the VA's White City Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center and Clinics facility.

Weekly news round-up

Toxic release sends workers to hospital, Black Friday jitters

November 23, 2013

A company president heads to federal prison for occupational safety crimes, sharps injuries among health care workers benchmarked and an asbestos claim transparency victim that has victims’ rights advocates calling “foul” are among this week’s top EHS-related stories as featured on ISHN.com:

320,000+ sharps injuries a year among U.S. health care workers

“A serious occupational risk”

November 20, 2013

A new survey estimates that 320,000 U.S. health care workers sustain sharps injuries (SI) in hospital and non-hospital settings. The survey by the Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare (AOHP) found an SI rate of 24 per 100 occupied beds, or 1.9 per 100 full-time equivalents (FTE.)

Nursing facility exposes workers to needlestick injuries, contaminated clothing

October 30, 2013

OSHA has cited a Long Island health care facility for exposing its workers to bloodborne pathogens from a variety of sources. The Avalon Gardens Rehabilitation & Health Care Center Inc. in Smithtown earned 11 serious violations of workplace health and safety standards, with $41,000 in proposed penalties, following an inspection that was prompted by a complaint.