Jordan Barab, deputy assistant secretary at OSHA, give a quick, 20-minute snapshot of his agency’s current priorities on Wednesday, May 7 at an event sponsored by ASSE – “Occupational Safety & Health in Global Workforce Sustainability.” The half-day meeting was held at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Temp worker safety was at the top of Barab’s list. OSHA is concerned about fatalities among inexperience temps, many who will work numerous “first days on the job” in a year.
Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter for has signed into law a bill that makes it a felony to assault or batter emergency nurses. Violators could face up to three years in state prison if convicted.
An anesthetized patient fell to the floor headfirst from an operating room table during a laparoscopic appendectomy in Scotland. The table had been tilted into an extreme head down position to facilitate the operation. Fortunately, no injury occurred.
CSB reports on Tesoro refinery blast; Supreme Court rules on PPE case
February 1, 2014
Another delay for OSHA’s silica rule, a pipeline explosion in Canada and workplace violence prevention training for nurses were among this week’s top EHS-related stories featured on ISHN.com.
-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.
OSHA has launched a new educational Web resource which has extensive materials to help hospitals prevent worker injuries, assess workplace safety needs, enhance safe patient handling programs, and implement safety and health management systems. The materials include fact books, self-assessments and best practice guides.
The New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF) has filed a lawsuit in New York’s Supreme Court, challenging a rule that requires health care workers to either get flu vaccinations or wear surgical masks during flu season.
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:
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.)
In 2012, the Healthcare and Social Assistance (HCSA) sector was amongst the largest industry sectors in the U.S. employing an estimated 19.4 million workers (13.5% of the total workforce)[1]. On average, over the last decade, U.S. healthcare workers have accounted for two-thirds of the nonfatal workplace violence injuries in all industries involving days away from work [2].
