Health Care


World Health Day 2010 Theme: Urbanization and Health

1000 Cities, 1000 Lives is the campaign. Cities are being registered now, and WHO says events will be held worldwide April 7-11.

Health Care Worker Violence Prevention Program Tips

A written program for job safety and security, incorporated into the organization's overall safety and health program, offers an effective approach for larger organizations. In smaller establishments, the program does not need to be written or heavily documented to be satisfactory.

Massachusetts Starts Home Oxygen Fire Safety Campaign

The state fire marshal and a task force announced the campaign Jan. 21 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where they said 24 fire deaths and seven firefighter injuries have occurred in such fires since 1997.

The bills would require the U.S. Labor Department to enact a safe patient handling standard, and each covered employer would have to create and implement a safe patient handling and injury prevention plan within six months after the standard is promulgated.

Patient Handling Bills Shouldn't Cover Home Care, AIHA Says

The association's president wrote to U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., who sponsored S. 1788, warning that risk control approaches aren't available at this time to address all of the workers' exposures in that industry.

Mobile MedlinePlus will be a valuable health information source for laypeople and medical professionals who are increasingly turning to mobile communications devices, according to NIH.

Mobile MedlinePlus Launched

The government's hugely popular health information site has rolled out a new version for mobile device users. Down a bit from its peak, the site still attracts more than 10 million unique visitors per month.

Postsurgical Monitoring Approach Shown to Minimize ICU Transfers

A simple yet enormously effective patient surveillance system implemented by anesthesiologists at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H. has proven to dramatically decrease the number of rescue calls and intensive care unit transfers in postsurgical patients, allowing doctors to intervene in more cases before a crisis situation develops.

Study Finds Cancer Treatments Vary Between County, Private Hospitals

Researchers at Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego and colleagues have found that prostate cancer treatments varied significantly between county hospitals and private providers. Patients treated in county hospitals are more likely to undergo surgery while patients treated in private facilities tend to receive radiation or hormone therapy. These findings were published today online by the journal CANCER.

An image of a soldier

Study: Combat Injury Not Leading Cause of Medical Evacuation from War Zones

According to researchers at Johns Hopkins, the most common reasons for medical evacuation of military personnel from war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years have been fractures, tendonitis, and other musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders.



FDA Commissioner Addresses Health Care Professionals on H1N1 Vaccine Safety

Food and Drug Administrator Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg recently sent a letter to America's health care professionals thanking them for their efforts during the 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak and providing information on safety monitoring of the 2009 H1N1 vaccines.

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act bans use of "light," "low," or "mild" or "similar descriptors" in tobacco product labeling or advertising as of June 22, 2010.

FDA Moving on Tobacco Marketing Claims

The agency asked Tuesday for comments about packaging that uses adjectives such as "silver" or "smooth," pastel or white colors, using the letter L, and displaying terms such as "natural" and "no additives."

OSHA Booklet Outlines Hexavalent Chromium Standards, Dangers

Requirements for exposure limits, exposure monitoring and determination, protective work clothing and equipment, medical surveillance, communication of hexavalent chromium hazards, and recordkeeping are described.

Study Says Certain Nonprescription Drugs Prevent Trip to Doctor

Nonprescription medications in the home medicine cabinet could save a trip to the doctor, according to the January issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter. It lists more than a dozen over-the-counter medications that can help manage minor ailments.

Hospitals' Patient Care Improving, Joint Commission Reports

The fourth annual report from The Joint Commission says accredited hospitals have steadily improved patient care quality during the past seven years. By eliminating preventable complications "that today drive up the cost of care, we would easily save the many billions of dollars lawmakers are struggling so hard to locate," its president said.

Women's Health Provider Settles Hazwaste Violations

The company offers in vitro diagnostic kits, and analyte-specific, general purpose, and research-use-only reagents for nucleic acid analysis. EPA said the company failed to obtain a hazardous waste storage license, among other things.

Are hospital operating rooms by default "wet locations" requiring electrical shock protection or a risk assessment?

Operating Room Electrical Safety Open to Debate

Are hospital operating rooms by default "wet locations"? Deciding yes or no has not been easy for the technical committee revising NFPA 99, Health Care Facilities, Richard P. Bielen writes in the current NFPA Journal.

Needlesticks are one cause of Hepatitis C infections.

Hepatitis Awareness Campaign Recommended

An IOM committee's report outlines a national strategy for preventing and controlling Hepatitis B and C, calling them "important public health problems" and noting 5.3 million Americans have the diseases in chronic form. They are more common in this country than HIV/AIDS, but awareness is low.

FDA Unveils First Phase of Transparency Initiative

The Food and Drug Administration recently unveiled the first phase of its Transparency Initiative that is designed to explain agency operations, how it makes decisions, and the drug approval process.

Study Finds One Type A Characteristic Lowers Work Stress

Most characteristics of the "Type A" personality are linked to increased work stress. But there's one important exception, according to a study in the January Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

New OSHA Videos Put Respirators, Facemasks in Starring Roles

The videos also explain how workers can perform a user seal check to test whether a respirator is worn properly and will provide the expected level of protection.

Researchers found the frequency of serious injury from dispatcher-aided bystander CPR among non-arrest patients is low.

Study Supports Safety of Dispatcher-Aided CPR

Writing in the latest issue of Circulation, authors from Public Health Seattle–King County’s Emergency Medical Services Division and the University of Washington Department of Medicine report the frequency of serious injury related to dispatcher-assisted bystander CPR among non-arrest patients was low.

Product Showcase

  • Safety Knives

    The Safety Knife Company has developed a quality range of safety knives for all industries. Designed so that fingers cannot get to the blades, these knives will safely cut through cardboard, tape, strapping, shrink or plastic wrap or a variety of other packing materials. Because these knives have no exposed blades and only cut cardboard deep, they will not only protect employees against lacerations but they will also save product. The Metal Detectable versions have revolutionary metal detectable polypropylene knife bodies specifically for the food and pharmaceutical industries. This material can be detected and rejected by typical detection machines and is X-ray visible. Read More

  • The MGC Simple Plus

    The MGC Simple Plus is a simple-to-use, portable multi gas detector that runs continuously for three years without being recharged or routinely calibrated after its initial charge and calibration during manufacturing. The detector reliably tests a worksite’s atmosphere for hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, oxygen and combustible gases (LEL). Its durability enables the detector to withstand the harshest treatment and environments, hence earning it an IP 68 rating. The MGC Simple Plus is also compatible with a variety of accessories, such as the GCT External Pump. Visit gascliptech.com for more information. Read More

  • Full Line of Defense Against Combustible Dust Nilfisk

    Nilfisk provides a comprehensive range of industrial vacuums meticulously crafted to adhere to NFPA 652 housekeeping standards, essential for gathering combustible dust in Class I, Group D, and Class II, Groups E, F & G environments or non-classified settings. Our pneumatic vacuums are meticulously engineered to fulfill safety criteria for deployment in hazardous surroundings. Leveraging advanced filtration technology, Nilfisk ensures the secure capture of combustible materials scattered throughout your facility, ranging from fuels, solvents, and metal dust to flour, sugar, and pharmaceutical powders. Read More

Featured

Artificial Intelligence