During new lab employee orientation, safety training should be one of the first items, and it should include information about fire prevention and preparedness. Orient the new staff to the layout of the department. Show them the exits and the designated evacuation meeting location.
Complete workplace violence (WPV) site analyses, designate a leader to oversee and report that work to the governing board, and ensure float staff are trained on your organization’s WPV prevention policies.
TJC is increasing its number of LS surveyors and they are all being trained that nothing can hang from or even touch sprinkler pipes unless it is part of the fire suppression system itself, warned Herman McKenzie, MBA, CHSP, director of the Standards Interpretation Group’s...
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is focusing on healthcare safety with some of its upcoming standards, according to OSHA officials at a safety conference in late September.
The Joint Commission (TJC) is still catching up on the surveys backlogged during the COVID-19 pandemic—but they are catching up. As you get ready, be prepared to get down on hands and knees to double-check for some problems highlighted recently.
Check your eyewash stations, verify air pressure relationships, ensure exit signs are functioning, review surgical instruments for proper sterilization, ensure food temperatures are within range, and train surgical staff on the fire safety timeouts.
Hospitals are now battling both monkeypox and COVID-19 as twin health emergencies, but CMS has signaled that the waivers and flexibilities allowed for almost three years may be almost up.
In a Q&A, Dan Scungio, MT(ASCP), SLS, laboratory safety officer for multihospital system Sentara Healthcare in Virginia, discusses lab safety and the handling of monkeypox specimens.
