Safety Tips from the Red Cross
November 24, 2008 – The American Red Cross wants to remind everyone of important safety issues that will help ensure a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday.
Since Thanksgiving usually involves preparing lots of food, cooking safety should be a priority. Unfortunately, cooking fires are more likely to occur on Thanksgiving Day than any other day of the year according to the National Fire Protection Association.
The Red Cross offers the following tips to prevent home fires this Thanksgiving:
• Monitor your cooking at all times. Unattended cooking is the leading cause of Thanksgiving Day home fires.
• Keep potholders and food wrappers at least three feet away from heat sources while cooking.
• Wear tighter fitting clothing with shorter sleeves when cooking.
• Make sure all stoves and ranges have been turned off when you leave the kitchen, and that ovens are turned off when you leave the house.
• Set timers to keep track of turkeys and other food items that require extended cooking times.
• Turn handles of pots and pans on the stove inward to avoid accidents.
• Follow all manufacturer guidelines regarding the appropriate use of appliances.
• After guests leave, designate a responsible adult to walk around the home, making sure that all candles and smoking materials are extinguished.
Finally, it’s important for every household to make sure to have working smoke alarms. The Red Cross encourages people to install smoke alarms on every level of their house and outside sleeping areas and to test the batteries once a month.
Even with the best preparation and precautions, accidents can happen. Cooking-related burns are a common hazard of the Thanksgiving holiday. For a superficial burn, cool the area by running it under cold water until the heat eases and then loosely cover the burn with a sterile dressing to help prevent infection. A critical burn requires medical attention.
Choking is another threat to a happy holiday dinner. Common causes of choking include talking while eating; eating too fast; and trying to swallow large pieces of poorly chewed food. If you feel as if food may be caught in your throat, never leave the room-stay where others can see you and help if your airway becomes blocked.
To help someone who is choking, remember “FIVE-and-FIVE Can Keep Them Alive.” First, ask the person if they are able to breathe and if you can help. Once you know the person is unable to cough, speak or breathe, have someone call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number.
Lean the person forward and give FIVE sharp back blows between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand. If the obstruction isn’t dislodged, stand behind the person and give FIVE quick, upward thrusts into the abdomen. Repeat back blows and abdominal thrusts as necessary. If you are alone, you can perform abdominal thrusts on yourself, just as you would on someone else. Thrusts can also be administered by leaning over and pressing your abdomen firmly against an object such as the back of a chair
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Are Disease managment Programs effective or too costly- review of recent research
A review of current peer reviewed research or research presented by professional organizations with peer reviewed journals reveals that Disease Management programs are not cost effective for direct costs without inclusion of indirect costs, societal costs. In addition Programs that are effective are long term, and targeted to selected populations.
In effect Insurance companies who must manage a broad scope of health care costs and over a long period of time may benefit from disease management programs for targeted patients. Firms that are out sourcing these models, will find reactive disease management programs too expensive. But other research indicates that proactive programs for health coaching are on the increase and profitable in 2008.
Nov. 9, 2004 (New Orleans) — Disease management improves survival in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF), especially in those with advanced disease. But the program does not save healthcare utilization or costs, according to results of a late-breaking clinical trial presented here at the American Heart Association 2004 Scientific Sessions.
"Disease management promised a lot but those promises may be empty," lead investigator Autumn Dawn Galbreath, MD, vice chairman for clinical programs in the Department of Medicine at the University of Texas in San Antonio, said when presenting the results at an early morning press conference. The formal results were presented at the meeting by coinvestigator Gregory I. Freeman, MD, from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.
The investigators randomized 1,069 community-based patients with CHF to receive disease management or usual care. Average age of the group was 70.9 years. All had systolic heart failure with ejection fractions averaging 35% or echo-confirmed diastolic heart failure. Patients were followed for 18 months, with investigators conducting assessments of clinical status by telephone at six-month intervals.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/582790
October 29, 2008 (Philadelphia, PA) — A heart-failure disease-management program that had cut the risk of hospitalization in a predominantly Hispanic and black population [1] is also cost-effective in that the benefit came at an expected societal cost under $25 000 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained
In the current analysis, the nurse-led intervention cost an average of $2177 per patient but reduced hospital costs by $2378 per patient; however, "higher costs for outpatient procedures, medications, and home healthcare prevented the intervention from being cost-saving over the 12-month study," according to the authors.
The incremental cost per QALY gained for the intervention program was estimated at $19 691 or $21 470, depending on the quality-of-life instrument used, either the Health Utility Index Mark 3 or EuroQol-5D, respectively, after adjustment for baseline quality-of-life differences between groups.
The estimated net 12-month cost to Medicare associated with implementation of the disease-management program was either $3176 or $3673 per QALY, respectively.
The study's results are consistent with an ongoing Medicare demonstration product, according to Hebert et al, that "found no evidence that [its] nurse-management interventions were cost-saving or cost-neutral.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/582790
The economic effectiveness of disease management programs, which are designed to improve the clinical and economic outcomes for chronically ill individuals, has been evaluated extensively. A literature search was performed with MEDLINE and other published sources for the period covering January 1995 to September 2003. The search was limited to empirical articles that measured the direct economic outcomes for asthma, diabetes, and heart disease management programs. Of the 360 articles and presentations evaluated, only 67 met the selection criteria for meta-analysis, which included 32,041 subjects. Based on the studies included in the research, a meta-analysis provided a statistically significant answer to the question of whether disease management programs are economically effective. The magnitude of the observed average effect size for equally weighted studies was 0.311 (95% CI = 0.272-0.350).
The results suggest that disease management programs are more effective economically with severely ill enrollees and that chronic disease program interventions are most effective when coordinated with the overall level of disease severity.
http://www.citeulike.org/user/waffle168/article/197597
Heart failure (HF) disease management programs have shown impressive reductions in hospitalizations and mortality, but in studies limited to short time frames and high-risk patient populations. Current guidelines thus only recommend disease management targeted to high-risk patients with HF.
METHODS: This study applied a new technique to infer the degree to which clinical trials have targeted patients by risk based on observed rates of hospitalization and death. A Markov model was used to assess the incremental life expectancy and cost of providing disease management for high-risk to low-risk patients. Sensitivity analyses of various long-term scenarios and of reduced effectiveness in low-risk patients were also considered. RESULTS: The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of extending coverage to all patients was $9700 per life-year gained in the base case. In aggregate, universal coverage almost quadrupled life-years saved as compared to coverage of only the highest quintile of risk. A worst case analysis with simultaneous conservative assumptions yielded an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $110,000 per life-year gained. In a probabilistic sensitivity analysis, 99.74% of possible incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were <$50,000 per life-year gained. CONCLUSIONS: Heart failure disease management programs are likely cost-effective in the long-term along the whole spectrum of patient
risk. Health gains could be extended by enrolling a broader group of patients with HF in disease management.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18215605
Here is the video link
http://www.bupafoundation.co.uk/asp/awards/08_awards/health_at_work_award.asp
In effect Insurance companies who must manage a broad scope of health care costs and over a long period of time may benefit from disease management programs for targeted patients. Firms that are out sourcing these models, will find reactive disease management programs too expensive. But other research indicates that proactive programs for health coaching are on the increase and profitable in 2008.
Nov. 9, 2004 (New Orleans) — Disease management improves survival in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF), especially in those with advanced disease. But the program does not save healthcare utilization or costs, according to results of a late-breaking clinical trial presented here at the American Heart Association 2004 Scientific Sessions.
"Disease management promised a lot but those promises may be empty," lead investigator Autumn Dawn Galbreath, MD, vice chairman for clinical programs in the Department of Medicine at the University of Texas in San Antonio, said when presenting the results at an early morning press conference. The formal results were presented at the meeting by coinvestigator Gregory I. Freeman, MD, from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.
The investigators randomized 1,069 community-based patients with CHF to receive disease management or usual care. Average age of the group was 70.9 years. All had systolic heart failure with ejection fractions averaging 35% or echo-confirmed diastolic heart failure. Patients were followed for 18 months, with investigators conducting assessments of clinical status by telephone at six-month intervals.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/582790
October 29, 2008 (Philadelphia, PA) — A heart-failure disease-management program that had cut the risk of hospitalization in a predominantly Hispanic and black population [1] is also cost-effective in that the benefit came at an expected societal cost under $25 000 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained
In the current analysis, the nurse-led intervention cost an average of $2177 per patient but reduced hospital costs by $2378 per patient; however, "higher costs for outpatient procedures, medications, and home healthcare prevented the intervention from being cost-saving over the 12-month study," according to the authors.
The incremental cost per QALY gained for the intervention program was estimated at $19 691 or $21 470, depending on the quality-of-life instrument used, either the Health Utility Index Mark 3 or EuroQol-5D, respectively, after adjustment for baseline quality-of-life differences between groups.
The estimated net 12-month cost to Medicare associated with implementation of the disease-management program was either $3176 or $3673 per QALY, respectively.
The study's results are consistent with an ongoing Medicare demonstration product, according to Hebert et al, that "found no evidence that [its] nurse-management interventions were cost-saving or cost-neutral.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/582790
The economic effectiveness of disease management programs, which are designed to improve the clinical and economic outcomes for chronically ill individuals, has been evaluated extensively. A literature search was performed with MEDLINE and other published sources for the period covering January 1995 to September 2003. The search was limited to empirical articles that measured the direct economic outcomes for asthma, diabetes, and heart disease management programs. Of the 360 articles and presentations evaluated, only 67 met the selection criteria for meta-analysis, which included 32,041 subjects. Based on the studies included in the research, a meta-analysis provided a statistically significant answer to the question of whether disease management programs are economically effective. The magnitude of the observed average effect size for equally weighted studies was 0.311 (95% CI = 0.272-0.350).
The results suggest that disease management programs are more effective economically with severely ill enrollees and that chronic disease program interventions are most effective when coordinated with the overall level of disease severity.
http://www.citeulike.org/user/waffle168/article/197597
Heart failure (HF) disease management programs have shown impressive reductions in hospitalizations and mortality, but in studies limited to short time frames and high-risk patient populations. Current guidelines thus only recommend disease management targeted to high-risk patients with HF.
METHODS: This study applied a new technique to infer the degree to which clinical trials have targeted patients by risk based on observed rates of hospitalization and death. A Markov model was used to assess the incremental life expectancy and cost of providing disease management for high-risk to low-risk patients. Sensitivity analyses of various long-term scenarios and of reduced effectiveness in low-risk patients were also considered. RESULTS: The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of extending coverage to all patients was $9700 per life-year gained in the base case. In aggregate, universal coverage almost quadrupled life-years saved as compared to coverage of only the highest quintile of risk. A worst case analysis with simultaneous conservative assumptions yielded an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $110,000 per life-year gained. In a probabilistic sensitivity analysis, 99.74% of possible incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were <$50,000 per life-year gained. CONCLUSIONS: Heart failure disease management programs are likely cost-effective in the long-term along the whole spectrum of patient
risk. Health gains could be extended by enrolling a broader group of patients with HF in disease management.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18215605
Here is the video link
http://www.bupafoundation.co.uk/asp/awards/08_awards/health_at_work_award.asp
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
DAOHN Regulatory update for Oct 2008
DAOHN October 15 Regulatory affairs
Also included in this update is the complete Healthcare Plans for OBAMA Biden and McCain plans they are included at the bottom of the update.
OSHA posted 14 letters of interpretation
OSHA, defines first aid
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded $24 million for influenza pandemic preparedness
Finns have outgrown their environment, making them less able to cope in today’s society.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed safe patient handling legislation on September 28, for the fifth time in five years
The United States Chamber of Commerce held a forum to recreate new anti ergonomics standard org.
Also included in this update is the complete Healthcare Plans for OBAMA Biden and McCain plans they are included at the bottom of the update.
OSHA posted 14 letters of interpretation
OSHA, defines first aid
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded $24 million for influenza pandemic preparedness
Finns have outgrown their environment, making them less able to cope in today’s society.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed safe patient handling legislation on September 28, for the fifth time in five years
The United States Chamber of Commerce held a forum to recreate new anti ergonomics standard org.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
ADA amendments act passes house and Senate
The Senate and the house have approved the ADA Amendments Act which expands protection against workplace discrimination for people with disabilities and overturns Supreme Court rulings that limited the scope of the regulation.
Both the House and the Senate bills define a disability as a physical or mentail impairment that "substantially limits" one or more life activities. They increase the number of activities covered and add a category of bodily functions and allow workers to sue if they believe they are mistreated under the revised ADA regulation.
Both the House and the Senate bills define a disability as a physical or mentail impairment that "substantially limits" one or more life activities. They increase the number of activities covered and add a category of bodily functions and allow workers to sue if they believe they are mistreated under the revised ADA regulation.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
DAOHN Government Affairs Update September 2008
· Workplace Exposure to Synthetic Fragrance on Wednesday
· Health care coverage projected to increase at double-digit rates into 2009.
· NIOSH Posts New Indoor Environmental Quality Topic Pages
· Regulation Proposed to Help Protect Health Care Providers from Discrimination
· Researchers link BPA exposure to health concerns
· mosquito-borne illness for FL 2nd adult case of West Nile virus (WNV) was confirmed.
· OSHA is accepting public comments on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
· NIOSH is hosting the "No Fit Test" Respirator Research Workshop on November 6, 2008.
The American Association of Occupational Health Nurses Inc. has partnered with the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Decatur Memorial Hospital in Illinois, the Massachusetts Nurses Association, the Alabama State Nurses Association, and the University of Maryland School of Nursing, Environmental Health Education Center to offer a webcast titled Reducing Workplace Exposure to Synthetic Fragrance on Wednesday, Oct. 15, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. EST. Supported in part by a grant from the Nurses Work Group of Health Care Without Harm (HCWH), the webcast will identify the pertinent chemistry and common adverse reactions to perfumes and other fragranced products; discuss the concept of individual sensitivity as it relates to occupational and environmental health and worker safety; and list the key components of a policy that addresses a fragrance-free work environment.
"Our partners for this webcast join us in supporting and promoting the importance of a fragrance-free workplace as just one of many health and safety programs that can benefit workers and ultimately have a positive impact on productivity and a company’s bottom line,” said AAOHN President Richard Kowalski.
NIOSH Posts New Indoor Environmental Quality Topic Pages
The agency has posted three new indoor environmental quality "topic pages" that discuss these issues and provide answers to frequently asked questions, along with suggestions for things you can do, resource links to follow, and other references on each of the following:
§ Dampness and Mold in Buildings Topic Page--Dampness results from water incursion either from internal sources (e.g. leaking pipes) or external sources (e.g. rainwater). Dampness is a problem in buildings because it provides the moisture that supports the growth of bacteria, fungi (i.e., mold), and insects
§ Building Ventilation Topic Page--Building ventilation is the circulation of air throughout a building. The ventilation or the heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system of a building supplies and removes air either naturally (windows) and/or mechanically to and from a space. Building ventilation may be an important factor determining the relationship between airborne transmission of respiratory infections and the health and productivity of workers.
§ Maintaining Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) during Construction and Renovation Topic Page--Construction and renovation projects in office settings can adversely affect building occupants by the release of airborne particulates, biological contaminants, and gases. Careful planning for IEQ and the prevention of exposure during these activities is essential.
You can find the new topic page links at www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/indoorenv/default.html
Health Plan Rates Projected to Continue Double-Digit Increase into '09
September 16, 2008
According to the results of a survey released by the ACS company Buck Consultants, a human resource and benefits consulting firm, costs for the most popular types of health care coverage are projected to increase at double-digit rates through the remainder of 2008 and into 2009.
In its 19th National Health Care Trend Survey, Buck Consultants found that health insurers reported an average prescription drug trend of 11.4 percent, down slightly from the 11.7 percent reported in the prior survey. The most popular types of health plans continue to increase more than 10 percent. They include Preferred Provider Organization (PPO): 11.1 percent; Point-of-service (POS): 10.8 percent; Health Maintenance Organization (HMO): 11.1 percent; High Deductible Consumer Driven: 10.7 percent.
Regulation Proposed to Help Protect Health Care Providers from Discrimination
A new proposed regulation would increase awareness of, and compliance with, three separate laws protecting federally funded health care providers’ right of conscience. This proposed rule was placed on public display at the Federal Register today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“This proposed regulation is about the legal right of a health care professional to practice according to their conscience,” HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said. “Doctors and other health care providers should not be forced to choose between good professional standing and violating their conscience. Freedom of expression and action should not be surrendered upon the issuance of a health care degree.”
Over the past three decades, Congress has enacted several statutes to safeguard these freedoms, also known as provider conscience rights, and the proposed regulation would increase awareness of and compliance with these laws. Specifically, the proposed rule would:
Clarify that non-discrimination protections apply to institutional health care providers as well as to individual employees working for recipients of certain funds from HHS;
Require recipients of certain HHS funds to certify their compliance with laws protecting provider conscience rights;
Designate the HHS Office for Civil Rights as the entity to receive complaints of discrimination addressed by the existing statutes and the proposed regulation; and
Charge HHS officials to work with any state or local government or entity that may be in violation of existing statutes and the proposed regulation to encourage voluntary steps to bring that government or entity into compliance with the law. If, despite the Department’s efforts, compliance is not achieved, HHS officials will consider all legal options, including termination of funding and the return of funds paid out in violation of the nondiscrimination provisions.
“Many health care providers routinely face pressure to change their medical practice – often in direct opposition to their personal convictions,” said HHS Assistant Secretary of Health, Admiral Joxel Garcia, M.D. “During my practice as an OB-GYN, I witnessed this first-hand. But health care providers shouldn’t have to check their conscience at the hospital door. This proposed rule will help ensure that doesn’t happen.”
While it would strengthen provider conscience rights, the proposed regulation would in no way restrict health care providers from performing any legal service or procedure. If a procedure is legal, a patient will still have the ability to access that service from a medical professional or institution that does not assert a conflict of conscience. For example, the proposed regulation does not affect the ability of private clinics to provide abortion services in accordance with the law.
Congress has enacted three separate statutes to protect provider conscience rights. First, in the 1970s, the Church Amendments were enacted at various times in response to debates over whether receipt of federal funds required recipients to provide abortions or sterilizations. The Amendments also protected health care providers and other individuals from discrimination by recipients of HHS funds on the basis of their refusal, due to religious belief or moral conviction, to perform or participate in any lawful health service or research activity.
Second, in 1996, section 245 of the Public Health Service Act was enacted to prohibit the federal government and state or local governments that receive federal financial assistance from discriminating against individual and institutional health care providers, including participants in medical training programs, who refused to, among other things, receive training in abortions; require or provide such training; perform abortions; or provide referrals for, or make arrangements for, such training or abortions.
Third, the Weldon Amendment to the Department’s fiscal year 2005 appropriations act, and to subsequent years’ appropriations acts, prohibited the provision of HHS funds to any state or local government or federal agency or program that discriminates against institutional or individual health care entities on the basis that the entity does not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortion.
Despite this, many in the health care industry, and members of the general public, are unaware of these provider conscience rights. For example, an ethics opinion put forth several months ago by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists appeared to disregard these laws. Subsequent action by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, which appeared to adopt the opinion, had the potential to force physicians to either violate their conscience by referring patients for abortions (or taking other objectionable actions) or risk losing their board certification. This case and others illustrate the need for the proposed rule to increase awareness of, and compliance with, the three statutes protecting provider conscience rights.
Researchers link BPA exposure to health concerns
In the first large-scale human study of the chemical, some found with bisphenol A in their urine had more than double the normal risk of heart disease and diabetes.
The first large-scale human study of a chemical widely used in plastic products, including baby bottles and tin can linings, found double the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and liver problems in people with the highest concentrations in their urine, British researchers reported Tuesday.The findings confirm earlier results obtained in animals, increasing pressure on the Food and Drug Administration to limit use of the chemical Bisphenol A, commonly called BPA.
By Thomas H. Maugh II, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer September 17, 2008
PENSACOLA – Escambia County Health Department Director Dr. John Lanza today issued a mosquito-borne illness advisory for Escambia County after the county’s second adult human case of West Nile virus (WNV) was confirmed. This is the county’s second case since 2006.Symptoms of West Nile virus disease may include headache, fever, fatigue, dizziness, weakness and confusion. Physicians should contact their county health department if they suspect an individual may meet the case definition for a mosquito-borne illness. Department of Health (DOH) laboratories provide testing services for physicians treating patients with clinical signs of mosquito-borne disease.The health department reminds residents and visitors to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes that may cause encephalitis disease. Escambia County Mosquito Control and the health department continue surveillance and prevention efforts and encourage everyone to take basic precautions to help limit exposure by following the department of health recommendations.Your personal mosquito protection efforts should include the “5 D’s” for prevention: - Dusk and Dawn: Avoid being outdoors when mosquitoes are seeking blood. For many species, this is during the dusk and dawn hours. - Dress: Wear clothing that covers most of your skin. - DEET: When the potential exists for exposure to mosquitoes, repellents containing DEET (N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide, or N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide) are recommended. Picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, and IR3535 are other repellent options. - Drainage: Check around your home to rid the area of standing water, which is where mosquitoes can lay their eggs. - Screens: Cover open windows and doors with screens. Check screens regularly for tears and openings that need to be repaired. OSHA seeks approval for proposed rule on remedies for violations of personal protective equipment and training standards
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is accepting public comments on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and training standards. The proposal clarifies that when an OSHA standard requires an employer to provide PPE, such as respirators, or training to employees, the employer must do so for each employee subject to the requirement. Each employee not protected may be considered a separate violation for penalty purposes."We want employers to understand the importance of complying with OSHA’s PPE rule for each and every one of their employees," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Edwin G. Foulke, Jr. "Without question, providing PPE for all employees will reduce costs, save money and, most importantly, save lives."
NIOSH is hosting the "No Fit Test" Respirator Research Workshop on November 6, 2008. The workshop aims to examine how the latest material technology (shape-changing polymers, adhesives, etc.) may be leveraged to improve current and future respirator designs including the long-term possibility of moving away from current fit-testing requirements, while preserving user protection. We would like your input as we finalize the workshop agenda.
An estimated 5 million workers wear respirators in 1.3 million U.S. workplaces to provide protection against various airborne hazards. Respiratory protection is critically dependent upon the fit of the respirator to the user's face. A fit test is required to assure that a given respirator fits an individual. Reports from the National Academies' Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommend research toward better-fitting respirators, with the ultimate goal of finding a way to obviate the need for initial and annual fit testing
· Health care coverage projected to increase at double-digit rates into 2009.
· NIOSH Posts New Indoor Environmental Quality Topic Pages
· Regulation Proposed to Help Protect Health Care Providers from Discrimination
· Researchers link BPA exposure to health concerns
· mosquito-borne illness for FL 2nd adult case of West Nile virus (WNV) was confirmed.
· OSHA is accepting public comments on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
· NIOSH is hosting the "No Fit Test" Respirator Research Workshop on November 6, 2008.
The American Association of Occupational Health Nurses Inc. has partnered with the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Decatur Memorial Hospital in Illinois, the Massachusetts Nurses Association, the Alabama State Nurses Association, and the University of Maryland School of Nursing, Environmental Health Education Center to offer a webcast titled Reducing Workplace Exposure to Synthetic Fragrance on Wednesday, Oct. 15, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. EST. Supported in part by a grant from the Nurses Work Group of Health Care Without Harm (HCWH), the webcast will identify the pertinent chemistry and common adverse reactions to perfumes and other fragranced products; discuss the concept of individual sensitivity as it relates to occupational and environmental health and worker safety; and list the key components of a policy that addresses a fragrance-free work environment.
"Our partners for this webcast join us in supporting and promoting the importance of a fragrance-free workplace as just one of many health and safety programs that can benefit workers and ultimately have a positive impact on productivity and a company’s bottom line,” said AAOHN President Richard Kowalski.
NIOSH Posts New Indoor Environmental Quality Topic Pages
The agency has posted three new indoor environmental quality "topic pages" that discuss these issues and provide answers to frequently asked questions, along with suggestions for things you can do, resource links to follow, and other references on each of the following:
§ Dampness and Mold in Buildings Topic Page--Dampness results from water incursion either from internal sources (e.g. leaking pipes) or external sources (e.g. rainwater). Dampness is a problem in buildings because it provides the moisture that supports the growth of bacteria, fungi (i.e., mold), and insects
§ Building Ventilation Topic Page--Building ventilation is the circulation of air throughout a building. The ventilation or the heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system of a building supplies and removes air either naturally (windows) and/or mechanically to and from a space. Building ventilation may be an important factor determining the relationship between airborne transmission of respiratory infections and the health and productivity of workers.
§ Maintaining Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) during Construction and Renovation Topic Page--Construction and renovation projects in office settings can adversely affect building occupants by the release of airborne particulates, biological contaminants, and gases. Careful planning for IEQ and the prevention of exposure during these activities is essential.
You can find the new topic page links at www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/indoorenv/default.html
Health Plan Rates Projected to Continue Double-Digit Increase into '09
September 16, 2008
According to the results of a survey released by the ACS company Buck Consultants, a human resource and benefits consulting firm, costs for the most popular types of health care coverage are projected to increase at double-digit rates through the remainder of 2008 and into 2009.
In its 19th National Health Care Trend Survey, Buck Consultants found that health insurers reported an average prescription drug trend of 11.4 percent, down slightly from the 11.7 percent reported in the prior survey. The most popular types of health plans continue to increase more than 10 percent. They include Preferred Provider Organization (PPO): 11.1 percent; Point-of-service (POS): 10.8 percent; Health Maintenance Organization (HMO): 11.1 percent; High Deductible Consumer Driven: 10.7 percent.
Regulation Proposed to Help Protect Health Care Providers from Discrimination
A new proposed regulation would increase awareness of, and compliance with, three separate laws protecting federally funded health care providers’ right of conscience. This proposed rule was placed on public display at the Federal Register today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“This proposed regulation is about the legal right of a health care professional to practice according to their conscience,” HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said. “Doctors and other health care providers should not be forced to choose between good professional standing and violating their conscience. Freedom of expression and action should not be surrendered upon the issuance of a health care degree.”
Over the past three decades, Congress has enacted several statutes to safeguard these freedoms, also known as provider conscience rights, and the proposed regulation would increase awareness of and compliance with these laws. Specifically, the proposed rule would:
Clarify that non-discrimination protections apply to institutional health care providers as well as to individual employees working for recipients of certain funds from HHS;
Require recipients of certain HHS funds to certify their compliance with laws protecting provider conscience rights;
Designate the HHS Office for Civil Rights as the entity to receive complaints of discrimination addressed by the existing statutes and the proposed regulation; and
Charge HHS officials to work with any state or local government or entity that may be in violation of existing statutes and the proposed regulation to encourage voluntary steps to bring that government or entity into compliance with the law. If, despite the Department’s efforts, compliance is not achieved, HHS officials will consider all legal options, including termination of funding and the return of funds paid out in violation of the nondiscrimination provisions.
“Many health care providers routinely face pressure to change their medical practice – often in direct opposition to their personal convictions,” said HHS Assistant Secretary of Health, Admiral Joxel Garcia, M.D. “During my practice as an OB-GYN, I witnessed this first-hand. But health care providers shouldn’t have to check their conscience at the hospital door. This proposed rule will help ensure that doesn’t happen.”
While it would strengthen provider conscience rights, the proposed regulation would in no way restrict health care providers from performing any legal service or procedure. If a procedure is legal, a patient will still have the ability to access that service from a medical professional or institution that does not assert a conflict of conscience. For example, the proposed regulation does not affect the ability of private clinics to provide abortion services in accordance with the law.
Congress has enacted three separate statutes to protect provider conscience rights. First, in the 1970s, the Church Amendments were enacted at various times in response to debates over whether receipt of federal funds required recipients to provide abortions or sterilizations. The Amendments also protected health care providers and other individuals from discrimination by recipients of HHS funds on the basis of their refusal, due to religious belief or moral conviction, to perform or participate in any lawful health service or research activity.
Second, in 1996, section 245 of the Public Health Service Act was enacted to prohibit the federal government and state or local governments that receive federal financial assistance from discriminating against individual and institutional health care providers, including participants in medical training programs, who refused to, among other things, receive training in abortions; require or provide such training; perform abortions; or provide referrals for, or make arrangements for, such training or abortions.
Third, the Weldon Amendment to the Department’s fiscal year 2005 appropriations act, and to subsequent years’ appropriations acts, prohibited the provision of HHS funds to any state or local government or federal agency or program that discriminates against institutional or individual health care entities on the basis that the entity does not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortion.
Despite this, many in the health care industry, and members of the general public, are unaware of these provider conscience rights. For example, an ethics opinion put forth several months ago by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists appeared to disregard these laws. Subsequent action by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, which appeared to adopt the opinion, had the potential to force physicians to either violate their conscience by referring patients for abortions (or taking other objectionable actions) or risk losing their board certification. This case and others illustrate the need for the proposed rule to increase awareness of, and compliance with, the three statutes protecting provider conscience rights.
Researchers link BPA exposure to health concerns
In the first large-scale human study of the chemical, some found with bisphenol A in their urine had more than double the normal risk of heart disease and diabetes.
The first large-scale human study of a chemical widely used in plastic products, including baby bottles and tin can linings, found double the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and liver problems in people with the highest concentrations in their urine, British researchers reported Tuesday.The findings confirm earlier results obtained in animals, increasing pressure on the Food and Drug Administration to limit use of the chemical Bisphenol A, commonly called BPA.
By Thomas H. Maugh II, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer September 17, 2008
PENSACOLA – Escambia County Health Department Director Dr. John Lanza today issued a mosquito-borne illness advisory for Escambia County after the county’s second adult human case of West Nile virus (WNV) was confirmed. This is the county’s second case since 2006.Symptoms of West Nile virus disease may include headache, fever, fatigue, dizziness, weakness and confusion. Physicians should contact their county health department if they suspect an individual may meet the case definition for a mosquito-borne illness. Department of Health (DOH) laboratories provide testing services for physicians treating patients with clinical signs of mosquito-borne disease.The health department reminds residents and visitors to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes that may cause encephalitis disease. Escambia County Mosquito Control and the health department continue surveillance and prevention efforts and encourage everyone to take basic precautions to help limit exposure by following the department of health recommendations.Your personal mosquito protection efforts should include the “5 D’s” for prevention: - Dusk and Dawn: Avoid being outdoors when mosquitoes are seeking blood. For many species, this is during the dusk and dawn hours. - Dress: Wear clothing that covers most of your skin. - DEET: When the potential exists for exposure to mosquitoes, repellents containing DEET (N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide, or N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide) are recommended. Picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, and IR3535 are other repellent options. - Drainage: Check around your home to rid the area of standing water, which is where mosquitoes can lay their eggs. - Screens: Cover open windows and doors with screens. Check screens regularly for tears and openings that need to be repaired. OSHA seeks approval for proposed rule on remedies for violations of personal protective equipment and training standards
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is accepting public comments on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and training standards. The proposal clarifies that when an OSHA standard requires an employer to provide PPE, such as respirators, or training to employees, the employer must do so for each employee subject to the requirement. Each employee not protected may be considered a separate violation for penalty purposes."We want employers to understand the importance of complying with OSHA’s PPE rule for each and every one of their employees," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Edwin G. Foulke, Jr. "Without question, providing PPE for all employees will reduce costs, save money and, most importantly, save lives."
NIOSH is hosting the "No Fit Test" Respirator Research Workshop on November 6, 2008. The workshop aims to examine how the latest material technology (shape-changing polymers, adhesives, etc.) may be leveraged to improve current and future respirator designs including the long-term possibility of moving away from current fit-testing requirements, while preserving user protection. We would like your input as we finalize the workshop agenda.
An estimated 5 million workers wear respirators in 1.3 million U.S. workplaces to provide protection against various airborne hazards. Respiratory protection is critically dependent upon the fit of the respirator to the user's face. A fit test is required to assure that a given respirator fits an individual. Reports from the National Academies' Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommend research toward better-fitting respirators, with the ultimate goal of finding a way to obviate the need for initial and annual fit testing
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