Safety - March 2015
Chlorine sewage treatment may be boosting antibiotic resistance
Early studies are showing that chlorine treatment may encourage the formation of new antibiotics that could also enter the environment, potentially contributing to antibiotic resistance
3/31/2015
California senior facility's needs meant challenging fire sprinkler system installation
Project involved moving residents one story of the building at a time while work took place
3/31/2015
Determining eyewash station requirements, placement
There aren't many locations that actually require eyewash stations
3/30/2015
Q&A on electrical outlets and oxygen cylinders
In a recent Q&A on the FacilityCare website, consultant Brad Keyes answered a question about electrical outlets and oxygen cylinders
3/27/2015
A third of Manitoba care facilities don't have sprinklers
Province says all facilities will have sprinkler systems in the next ten years
3/26/2015
Survey shows one in three hospitals showing rise in violence
Forty-six percent of the respondents reported increasing their security budgets in 2014
3/25/2015
Explore differences in how staff and senior management perceive risks
A gap in perceptions of the level of risk often emerges between the people closest to the danger and those at some distance
3/25/2015
Input sought on increasing the allowable smoke compartment in hospitals
National Fire Protection Association proposing change for the 2018 revision of the 2015 edition of NFPA 101 Life Safety Code
3/24/2015
Nebraska Medical Center shares Ebola protocols
Nebraska Biocontainment Unit shares information on Ebola patient discharge, handling a patient's body after death and environmental disinfection
3/20/2015
Design changes suggested after Australian nursing home fire kills 14
Coroner suggests doors and corridors should be constructed to enable rapid movement of beds in emergencies
3/19/2015
Working in healthcare becoming a risky business
Healthcare workers in general, and ED staff in particular, face a huge risk of violence
3/18/2015
Hospitals preparing for every infectious disease
Potential cases of highly infectious diseases have left hospitals on high alert
3/18/2015
California working on hospital violence standards
Division of Occupational Safety and Health issued a draft regulatory proposal that would require healthcare employers to develop workplace violence prevention plans
3/16/2015
British Columbia attacks on nurses blamed on lack of compliance
Every B.C. health authority has been penalized after violent incidents in their facilities
3/13/2015
Alaska hospital takes part in 3-day disaster drill
South Peninsula Hospital to simulate a mass casualty, mass fatality, partial evacuation and the creation of an alternate care site
3/13/2015
How healthcare facilities can minimize vulnerability to shootings
Risk management experts recommend that all healthcare facilities have a disaster preparedness and emergency operation plan
3/12/2015
Q&A on sleeping suites
In a recent Q&A on the FacilityCare website, consultant Brad Keyes answered a question about sleeping suites
3/12/2015
Shootings raising safety concerns at hospitals
Death of a Boston surgeon was another in an increasingly frequent series of 'active shooter' incidents in U.S. healthcare facilities
3/11/2015
Indiana hospital flushes water system after Legionella infections
Two infections at IU Health LaPorte Hospital lead the facility to flush its water system
3/10/2015
U.K. hospital withholds loan payments over fire issues
Peterborough City Hospital withholds 1.4m-pound payment to private finance initiative
3/9/2015
At VA Hospitals, technology reduces nurses' injuries
The Loma Linda hospital is reducing the rate of lifting injuries by investing in equipment, training
3/6/2015
An infection control expert's week
An infection prevention and control nurse specialist at the Blackrock Clinic in Dublin writes of a 'typical' week
3/6/2015
N.C. health system steps up CRE screening, cleaning efforts
Carolinas HealthCare System screening for CRE, isolating infected patients and taking extra steps to decontaminate their rooms
3/4/2015
Lifting injuries growing issue for nurses
Hospitals can prevent many of those injuries with special equipment to move patients
3/2/2015