Friday, January 31, 2014

Fear-Free Zone: The Work Place





Your work place should, and can be, a fear-free zone. And yet often, it is not. Physicians and other healthcare staff report anxiety and tension from verbal abuse by both other staff members and patients.

When it comes to preventing work place violence of all kinds, intervention techniques are important to enact. They should be designed to assist in preventing such an occurrence, and to handle any incidents that have occurred. But to implement such a program, you may need a little background knowledge and support, the kind available to you through the use of MedTran's online learning modules. This is a vital area of employee training to master,  - and this kind of training is also the law.

Violence in the workplace, whether physical or verbal, is all too common an activity. It’s especially difficult to deal with in the healthcare profession, where there's very little room for margin of error, much less that caused by non-fatal accidents or poorly handled behavioral and administrated issues. Each year, more than 2 million individuals become victims of threats, harassment and violence. Workplace violence-prevention programs are vitally important, not only for potential victims but also in order to protect a company's clients and employees from any liability. Increasingly, employers are held responsible for failing to provide a safe, secure workplace environment.

In order to prevent violent episodes, or if a company has experienced one, steps must be taken to review all human resource procedures. A work place violence prevention program should be in place, and should include areas such as work site analysis, violence prevention pgorams for management and staff, employee involvement exercises, hazard prevention and control, and of course both safety and health training.

The program should include a written plan, and the structure of a threat assessment team. Having a thorough human resources policy in place as well as providing the structure for procedural reviews, background checks and reviews prior to hiring, and a crisis management plan are all key. In addition, the program should include an audit of the physical workplace for security, and on going employee training and safety reviews.

The most essential area is pro-activity. Healthcare facilities of all sizes should be aware of the potential for violence whether verbal or physical. They should be alert to employee safety. Violence can occur any time and place - in a veterinary office, in a physician’s examining room, in a pharmacy or hospital. The healthcare industry is hardly immune to this threat, nor are they immune from liability if nothing is done to prevent it.

Intervention studies in the health care environment have assessed administrative overview and behavioral issues on the job. It’s important to implement intervention research, using knowledge

of gathered data to set competent safety protocols for care providers and the workplace over all. This can be a sensitive issue, and having guidance as to how to approach it can be very important in creating a successful program - and a fear-free work place.

Administrators must address and resolve threats and violence if they’ve occurred, and implement both prevention and intervention plans. Outlining a proactive approach to violence that focuses on early prevention and intervention is important. The goal is to detect, manage, and resolve any behavior that generates concern in regard to potential violence.

The implementation of a Workplace Violence Prevention and Intervention Program is absolutely essential. And at MedTrainer - we can help you do just that.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Using Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)




Keeping yourself safe is a vitally important aspect of any healthcare position. And one required way to do just that is through the use of personal protective equipment.

So what is personal protective equipment?

PPE refers to equipment, or clothing items, that you wear to prevent or greatly minimize the possibility of exposure to injuries and illness in the workplace.  Items particularly relevant for healthcare workers include gloves, safety glasses, and depending on where you work, shoes, vests, and full body suits. The idea of this gear is to create a wall between you and infectious diseases and germs, and to prevent exposure to blood and other bodily fluids, thus minim

In short, PPE will reduce your chances of being exposed to, touching, and spreading contaminants. Whether you work in a hospital, doctor’s office, or veterinary facility, PPE protects you and others from the risk of infection. All healthcare workers should utilize personal protective equipment when they work with bodily fluids of any type. Why? For safety of course, but also because it is required to meet OSHA standards.

Typically, the most common healthcare PPE are gloves and masks. Naturally, gloves protect you from germs and from spreading them by touch. Masks cover your mouth and your nose, some even have a clear plastic section that covers your eyes. Masks function to keep you from breathing in some germs or spreading them.

In certain situations, a respiratory mask may be necessary to prevent breathing in very small germs by forming a seal around nose and mouth.

Eye protection is another form of PPE, such as goggles or shields, to protect your eyes from contact with bodily fluids or chemicals.

For your body, PPE clothing can be made up of aprons, gowns, shoe covers, and head covering.
Typically used during surgery and other medical procedures, the use of clean PPE clothing protects both you and the patient.

PPE may also be necessary to protect healthcare workers not just from germs but from certain chemicals and compounds, such as cancer treatments. This type of PPE, or cytotoxic personal protective equipment,  may include a liquid-proof grown with long sleeves and elastic cuffs.

So after you’ve found the proper PPE, and worn it, how do you dispose of it again?

You’ll need to follow safe removal and disposal protocol, placing garments in appropriate
laundry containers if they can be used again after cleaning, disposing of other one-use garments in special waste containers, or bags marked specifically for use with cytotoxic PPE clothing.

Overall, healthcare workers should be sure their PPE is clean, reliable, fits well, and is comfortable. Employers must provide you with training as to what type of equipment to wear and when it’s necessary to use it, as well as how to put it on, adjust it, and take it off and dispose of it correctly. PPE effectiveness should be regularly evaluated and updated, and worn or damaged PPE replaced.

In many cases, you may need to utilize different PPE for different situations and patients. If you don’t know the right kind of gear to use, or need general PPE instruction, Medtrainer can help. Our unique online instruction program guides healthcare staff of all types through OSHA requirements and safety standards.

Stay safe! Know what PPE is available to you and what you need. Learn correct use and disposal procedures. The life you save may be your own.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Sexual Harassment in California and Nationwide



Sexual Harassment is an ugly thing. In California last August Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 292 an amendment to the Fair Employment and Housing Act which allows an employee claiming sexual harassment to prevail in a case without the necessity of showing that the conduct claimed motivated by the harasser’s sexual desire.

Effective as of January 1, 2014, the bill simple adds a sentence to the FEHA, noting that “sexually harassing conduct need not be motivated by sexual desire.” In short, should an employee be subject to sexual comments or actions, he or she does not need to provide the burden of proof that this conduct was caused by the harasser’s so called “sexual desire.”

Employers are legally responsible to create a workplace that’s free of sexual harassment. It makes sense not just in legal terms, but as good business. Sexual harassment causes low productivity, low morale, and stress.

Along with the federal law contained in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibiting sexual harassment, each state also has its own anti-sexual harassment law.

Do you know what sexual harassment entails? Have you trained your staff to prevent such misconduct, and encourage reporting of any unwelcome sexual advance should a situation occur?

Remember, sexual harassment refers to any unwelcome sexual advance or any conduct on the job that sets up a working environment that is intimidating or hostile for the employee. Any sexual conduct of any kind that makes an employee feel uncomfortable has the potential to be defined as sexual harassment, whether the misconduct is verbal or physical.

In short, whether it’s sexually explicit jokes, demeaning comments, an explicit email, or unwelcome touch of any kind, that’s sexual harassment. The harasser may be the victim's manager or coworker. And, you should know that an employer could be liable for harassment by a non-employee, such as a customer or vendor, if that harassment is tolerated in the workplace.

The point is, you need to be sure that strategies for the prevention of sexual harassment are firmly in place.

Make sure you have a policy to prevent such harassment, one that states it will not be tolerated, it will be punished, that you’ll fully investigate any complaint received, and that you will not tolerate retaliation against someone who files a complaint. You should also lay out a clearly understood procedure for filing sexual harassment complaints.

And of course, your employees must be trained. Training should let employees know exactly what sexual harassment is comprised of, explain that each and every employee has a right to a harassment-free environment, explain your policies and encourage employees to use the tools in place to prevent harassment and to file complaints should harassment occur.

In California, the law requires that any employers with at a minimum of fifty employees provide sexual harassment training every two years. Of course, even if your state doesn’t require you to do such training, it’s a good idea to do it. Such training will protect you legally should harassment occur, it will also actively prevent the occurrence in the first place. Knowledge of the laws keeps communication open.

Monday, January 20, 2014

Get Fired Up: Fire Prevention and Fire Extinguisher Types and Uses



Are your employees prepared to deal with fire related emergencies? Are your employees well versed in safe material handling, to prevent fire situations from getting started? Just how successful is your safety program? To answer those questions, it’s time to get fired up - think about the types of emergencies that could occur in your work place, whether you’re working in a dental office, health care clinic, or veterinary practice. Get your emergency response plans in place, and learn the do’s and don’ts of fire emergency, before anything has a chance to  heat up!

To prevent fires, and deal with them if they occur, your work team should know a little bit about what causes a fire - a fire is a chemical reaction that happens when oxygen and fuel meet an ignition source. Preventing that combination from occurring through safe material handling practices is vitally important. And should a fire occur, it’s also important to realize there are different types of fire, and that different fire types require different fire extinguishers.

There are basically five different kinds of fire:

Class A fires: These are fueled by standard combustible items such as paper, wood, rubber, and plastic.

Class B fires: These types of fires are fueled by flammable and combustible liquids, for example: gasoline, alcohol, oil-based paints, and flammable gases.

Class C fires: These fires are caused by the involvement of electrical equipment.

Class D fires: This type of fire involves combustible metals, which include titanium, sodium, and magnesium.

Class K fires: Usually thought of as a “cooking fires,” this type of fire involves vegetable or animal oils.

It’s important to remember that just as there are different types of fires, there are also different types of fire extinguishers. Choosing the appropriate type for your workplace is key for fire safety. Common fire extinguishers include Class A, for water based extinguishers, Class BC which uses CO2, and Class ABC which is a powdered, dry chemical type of extinguisher.  You need to determine which type of extinguisher works best in your workplace, and if there are multiple extinguishers necessary, employees need to know what type and size of fire each extinguisher is designed to handle. Extinguishers are clearly marked as to what types of fires they can be used to combat.

Of course, employees shouldn’t use a portable fire extinguisher of any kind on any fire larger than they are. The location and heat level of the fire, as well as the presence of smoke should also be assessed before use. Staff must maintain a proper distance from a fire, and know how to move away from a fire once it’s under control.
And if extinguishers are not called for, and exiting the fire situation is, employees should be well versed in exit routes from the premises.

So, before the burning question becomes can you survive a work place fire, set up the safety guidelines for exit routes and fire-handling protocols that will keep everyone safe. And of course, if you need help getting started, MedTrainer can provide expert assistance through skilled online training resources.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

General Safety Employee Orientation



Safety training and the enforcement of safety procedures are a vitally important part of the workplace. General Safety Employee Orientation is a key aspect of worker training in order to have workers who can accomplish their jobs safely, correctly, and efficiently.

Many OSHA standards require employers to conduct employee training about the general safety and health areas of their jobs. It is the employer’s responsibility, after all, to train employees to be assigned jobs that require certification, or ratings as competent or qualified.  To do so means presenting a general safety employee orientation that covers certain key training topics.

The idea is to provide general industry workers with information about their rights and responsibilities, as well as the responsibilities of their employers. Information about how to file a complaint, how to identify and avoid hazards and prevent safety issues from occurring is also mandatory information.

Training and orientation is specifically designed to cover general industry practices regarding safety and hazards. The orientation should emphasize the identification of hazards, control and prevention of hazards, and the avoidance of hazards. There are certain required topics such as workers rights, employer responsibilities and the process for filing complaints regarding worker safety and health.

Also required are necessary and informative instructions as to fall protection and safety standards for walking and for working surfaces; emergency action plans, fire prevention plans, fire protection, and the very important knowledge of exit routes in case of an emergency of any kind.

Electrical safety and the use of personal protective equipment are also important topics to be covered and discussed thoroughly during an orientation for general safety.

Hazard Communication is another important topic, touching on labeling and the required "right-to-know" knowledge about the chemicals employees work with.  The use of Safety Data Sheets that list chemicals’ physical properties and hazards should also be covered. Such information should be obtained and used for each specific product utilized in the workplace in order to demonstrate solid and easily understood information about chemicals and improve worker safety

Additionally, general safety orientation should feature training on appropriate topics such as: Hazardous Materials, Materials Handling, Machine Guarding, and an Introduction to Industrial Hygiene. Other topics to be covered could include bloodborne pathogens, which is especially pertinent in a health care environment, Ergonomics, fall protection, and a safety and health program. General industry hazards, employer policies, and specific job-designated training topics should round out the orientation process.

When a general safety orientation is planned, required topics must be covered, including employee orientation training basics such as alerting new workers on how to perform their jobs with the utmost safety. Orientation is also the right time to provide information that is designed to reduce new hire accidents and injuries, explore specific job hazards, and stress work place safety practices to provide a safer environment overall.

To sum up, truly effective orientation leads to professional and personal growth and safety in the workplace, which will serve to grow productivity and long range goals.

Monday, January 13, 2014

Hazardous Communication and Chemical Safety




Communicating adequately, professionally and responsibly about hazards in the workplace means chemical safety will be ensured. Without such communication, employees can be at risk.

The Hazard Communication Standard states that employers are required to form comprehensive  hazard communication programs used to inform employees about chemical hazards.

How to do so? Through readable, understandable labels on containers, material safety data sheets, and through instructive training programs, in person and through online instruction programs such as those offered by Medtrainer.

Implementing hazard communication programs successfully means that all employees can fully take advantage of the required "right-to-know" knowledge about the chemicals they work with. They will learn the hazards of the chemicals, and in doing so, they’ll greatly reduce the number of occupational illnesses and injuries related to chemical handling. This requirement and the policy of information itself is enforced by OSHA.

According the U.S. Secretary of Labor, hazardous chemical exposure is a serious threat to American workers. The recent revision of OSHA’s Hazard Communication standard is designed to improve hazard information quality, which is a win/win for both employees and employers. Employees will stay safe and healthy, employers will be able to compete in a global market with less time lost to hazards, health issues, and confusion. Cost savings will be the end result for businesses, as well as increased productivity and reduced trade restrictions.

The Hazard Communication Standard is now in sync with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals, allowing a common, full integrated approach to chemical classification and the communication of hazard information on both labeling and data sheets. The goal: to make workers safer by offering easy to understand information on handling and safe chemical use.

Manufacturers and importers of chemicals are now required to evaluate chemical hazards including preparing labels and safety data sheets to express this evaluation to customers and handlers. These labels and data sheets must be in place for all workers, to train them in appropriate handling and prevent accidents or over exposure to the products.

OSHA has new online tools to help employers and employees in adopting protective exposure limits, and in choosing safer chemical alternatives, too. These tools include new annotated tables that show up-to-date permissible exposure limits as well as a tool kit that employers can use to select safer chemicals as an alternative to using more hazardous chemicals.

The protective exposure limit tables, or PELs, previously in use were out of date. With thousands of chemicals used in U.S. work environments daily, the new tables are designed to prevent workers from becoming ill or injured from chemical use.

In short, the Hazard Communication Program including OSHA updates is intended to help maintain a healthy work place through increased employee hazard awareness about chemicals through standardized information, such as that communicated through Safety Data Sheets that list physical properties and hazards of chemicals. Such information should be obtained and used for each specific product to create solid and easily understood information about chemicals and improve worker safety.



Sunday, January 5, 2014

Bloodborne Pathogens and Cal OSHA Requirements for Control




What are bloodborne pathogens? They’re infectious microorganisms which appear in human blood and can cause disease. They include Hepatitis B and C, as well as HIV or human immunodeficiency virus.

Healthcare workers can be exposed to these pathogens through needlesticks and other injuries. Exposure can put workers at risk for serious illness. To prevent occupational exposure, employee protection must be implemented to eliminate or minimize the possibility of infection. This is done through the use of shielded needles, needle-less medical devices, protective clothing, and sanitation of surfaces, clothing, and equipment.

OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard offers certain safeguards designed to protect workers against bloodborne pathogen health hazards. It outlines exposure control plans, work practice controls, vaccination, and record keeping requirements. With an estimated 5.6 million healthcare workers at risk for exposure to bloodborne pathogens from human blood and bodily fluids, tissues, and organs, OSHA mandates the implementation of precautions for the handling of all potentially infectious materials. Complying with these mandates is necessary both legally and for employee well being and health.

These precautions include disposal containers for sharp objects, self-sheathing needles, and needle-less system implementation. They also include identifying and practicing work controls such as cleaning and sanitization of contaminated surfaces, careful handling and disposal of sharps, and the use of personal protective equipment such as gloves and gowns, which need to be cleaned and maintained properly, as well.

OSHA also requires that Hepatitis B vaccines are provided for all healthcare workers within ten days of a job assignment that includes occupational exposure to potential bloodborne pathogens. And, should a healthcare worker be exposed to bloodborne pathogens, through contact with blood or other bodily fluids, post-exposure follow up and evaluation must be provided, cost-free. The exposure and its circumstances must be thoroughly documented as well.

This means that employers must establish and set up an exposure control plan to eliminate or greatly reduce exposure possibilities. How? Listing job types that have exposure potential, and the tasks and procedures that can put workers at risk is one way. Employers must determine what procedures and tasks can be altered to prevent or limit exposures. This determination and any technology that eliminates or limits exposure must be updated annually, including the use of safer medical devices and the consideration of knowledge obtained on the job by workers in these areas about safer procedures.

Labels and signs that indicate waste hazards or containers used to transport potentially hazardous materials, laundry, or storage facilities should be utilized. Workers must be trained on the proper way to handle potentially hazardous materials and situations when initially assigned to their work position, and annually.

Naturally, maintaining the medical and training records of all healthcare records is also key, and keeping a record of sharps injuries. At present, the CDC estimates approximately 600,000 injuries annually that involve contaminated needles, glass, dental devices, and other objects that penetrate skin surface. The use of universal precautions to prevent or limit exposure is vitally important to lower exposure possibilities and health risk for workers. Safe handling precautions and vaccinations are enormously helpful in reducing these numbers.

Understanding Tuberculosis and Hepatitis A, B, and C

First of all, we'd like to welcome you to the Medtrainer Blog. We'll be posting new topics on compliance and healthcare every week. We hope you'll find our subjects informative and helpful.



What does it take to understand Tuberculosis and Hepatitis A, B, and C?  First of all it’s important to understand the symptoms of these infectious diseases, the method of transmission of these diseases, and the basics about them. Prevention of these diseases is all about the prevention of transmission, whether through vaccination, personal protection, or sanitation.

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease which is caused by the tubercle bacillus. The inflammation it causes attacks the respiratory system. The world's second-deadliest infectious disease, TB takes the lives of 1.5 to 2 million people annually. It has experienced a recent resurgence that has been resistant to standard TB drug therapies.

It can be contracted through the inhalation of bacteria from an infected individual’s cough or sneeze. However, a single instance of exposure is unlikely to result in an individual contracting the disease. In fact, exposure needs to be regular, day to day in general, in order to contract it, rather than through casual contact. Symptoms include coughing and fever. Treatment is primarily drug therapy, although following treatment, massage is often used to relieve spasms and pain which can result from the infection.

Hepatitis is the inflammation of an individual’s liver. It refers to a variety of viral infections that create this condition, most commonly Hepatitis A, B, and C. It should be noted that types B and C of viral hepatitis are considered the leading cause of liver cancer. Regardless of the type of hepatitis, many of those afflicted with the virus do not know they’re infected.

Hepatitis A incubates between 15 and 50 days, and causes a self limiting disease that while it replicates in the liver, it does not cause chronic infection or liver disease. Hepatitis A is generally transmitted by person to person contact or through the consumption of food or water that has been contaminated by fecal matter. Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent this disease’s transmission.

Hepatitis B and C are both much more serious viral infections than Hepatitis A. They can both become chronic. If this occurs, liver damage and liver cancer risk may follow.

Hepatitis B takes between 6 weeks and 6 months to manifest. It’s found in blood and other body fluids, with only half of the infections symptomatic. It’s transmitted through infected blood or body fluids that also contain blood. It can be sexually transmitted. Screening of pregnant women, employing vaccinations, and protected sexual behavior, all work to prevent the disease.

Hepatitis C is the most common of chronic bloodborne infections in the U.S. today. As many as 70% of those infected show no symptoms, but the disease can be detected through blood testing from one to three weeks after infection. It’s transmitted through infected blood transfusions or drug injections, and much less frequently, through sexual exposure.

Knowing the differences between these diseases and the methods of transmission can save lives and prevent infection. And that’s what understanding these serious diseases is all about. At Medtrainer, we can help you identify all aspects of these illnesses, transmission, and prevention.