Michael Bell, MD, Medical Officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will provide conference attendees with important updates and further CDC guidance related to the H1N1 flu virus at the 36th Annual Educational Conference and International Meeting of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), on Wednesday, June 10 at 8 a.m. in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The meeting, which runs from June 7-11, is an annual gathering of infection preventionists from around the world.
"The decision to declare an influenza pandemic will fall on my shoulders," Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, said Friday. "I can assure you, I will take this decision with utmost care and responsibility."
Filthy conditions and failure to correct violations at the American Mercantile Corp. of Memphis, Tenn. prompted action.
The U.S. Fire Administration is reminding the public that time is running out to submit an application for the 2009 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG). Completed applications must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 20, 2009.
May is Healthy Vision Month and through its EyeSmart campaign, the
American Academy of Ophthalmology wants to remind consumers how
important it is to protect your vision.
Striking more than 1 million Americans every year, skin cancer accounts for half of all cancer cases in the United States. Online voting for the poster contest is open until May 10.
"Planning for pandemic influenza is critical, and the business community must not delay in considering the impact of a pandemic and to adjust their company's employee health and safety plans accordingly," says AIHA President Lindsey Booher, CIH, CSP.
There are currently no products authorized for sale in Canada that are indicated specifically for the treatment of H1N1, the federal department says.
The Week, observed June 8-12, is an opportunity for hand therapists and health care professionals to raise awareness of how hand therapy prevents and ameliorates disability due to hand injury or disease.
People with swine influenza virus infection should be considered potentially contagious as long as they are symptomatic and possible for up to 7 days following illness onset. Children, especially younger children, might potentially be contagious for longer periods.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius also announced her agency has begun moving 400,000 treatment courses to Mexico to help slow the spread of the H1N1 virus there.
An unappreciated, underused resource for employers was thrust into the limelight recently when the National Business Group on Health released "An Employer's Guide to Employee Assistance Programs" at a Washington, D.C., news conference. Two years of studying best practices and evidencebased approaches to the design and delivery of effective employee assistance programs (EAPs) contributed to the guide.
On Feb. 23, 2009, a federal appeals court resolved the final challenges to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Hexavalent Chromium (CrVI) Standard that was promulgated in February 2006. The last challenge argued to lower the permissible exposure limit (PEL) to 1 μg/m3 from 5 μg/m3. This appeal was denied, and OSHA’s PEL was upheld by the court.
The Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services recently announced publication of a request for information (RFI) soliciting public comments in advance of developing rulemakings on group health plans. The RFI is published in the April 28 Federal Register.
No one can predict when a chemical splash will occur. But we can plan for the possibility, put in place preventive and protective measures, and prepare for a quick emergency response.
The Food and Drug Administration issued a final rule on April 28 that requires manufacturers of over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers and fever reducers to revise their labeling to include warnings about potential safety risks, such as internal bleeding and liver damage, associated with the use of these popular drugs.
In the first of this series of articles (March 2009, pages 66-67), we explored the difference between primary and secondary prevention strategies of employee injuries. As we stated, the dramatic reduction of employee injuries in the past 15 years demonstrates the employer's success in preventing an injury from occurring. However, when an injury does occur, the cost of that injury continues to spiral upward. We find ourselves in an environment where the frequency of injuries is down, but severity is up.
"Hospitals are walking a tightrope, trying to balance the growing needs of their communities with today's economic challenges," American Hospital Association President and CEO Rich Umbdenstock said.