Order Long-term ethylene oxide exposure trends in US hospitals essay paper help
Long-term ethylene oxide exposure trends in US hospitals essay assignment
Visit the OSHA website (www.osha.gov) and summarize their policy regarding hazard communication. Include information on the following five (5) issues: hazard communication standard, MSDS requirement, hazard plan, foreign language requirements, and lock-out regulation – 1.5 page response
Dessler, G. (2008). Human resource management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Chs. 16-17, pp. 637-736
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OSHA offers best practices for hospitals receiving victims of mass casualties
Anonymous. OSHA offers best practices for hospitals receiving victims of mass casualties. (2005, March) Professional Safety, 50(3), 25
Long-term ethylene oxide exposure trends in US hospitals: Relationship with OSHA regulatory and enforcement actions
LaMontagne, A.D., Oakes, J.M., & Lopez-Turley, R.N. (2004). Long-term ethylene oxide exposure trends in US hospitals: Relationship with OSHA regulatory and enforcement actions. American Journal of Public Health, 94(9), 1614-1619
Pointing the way to reducing needlestick injuries
Smith, S. (2003, July). Pointing the way to reducing needlestick injuries. Occupational Hazards 65(7), 20
OSHA proposes $45K in penalties
Verney, S. (2004, September). OSHA proposes $45K in penalties. Business Journal, 19 (50) 7.
Lecture and Research Update from Your Professors, Hyacinth
Broderick-Scott, Ed. D. and Ben Sharpton, M.A.
You will receive the greatest benefit from the following Lecture and Research Update if you first read this narrative, review the lesson, study the Required Readings, then come back to this section and carefully re-read this Lecture and Research Update. The “lecture” portion of this narrative focuses on issues from the textbook that need further explanation, while the “research update” portion integrates supportive information from recent professional academic and trade articles with the textbook information.
The terms health, safety, and security are closely related. Health is a broad, somewhat nebulous term that refers to a general state of physical , mental , and emotional well -being. A heal thy person is one who is free of illness, injury, or mental and emotional problems that impair normal human activity.
Health management practices in health care organizations strive to maintain the overall well -being of individuals. Typically, safety refers to protecting the physical well-being of people. The main purpose of effective safety programs in organizations is to prevent work-related injuries and accidents.
Security programs in the health care field protect employees, patients/residents, clients, visitors, and organizational facilities. With the growth of workplace violence, security at work has become an even greater concern for health care employers and employees alike. This Lecture and Research Update describes standards that regulate health, safety, and security in health service/health care organizations (HSOs/HCOs). In addition, it discusses some characteristics of successful programs promoting health awareness, safety management, and security and identifies the persons responsible for the implementation of these programs. In addition, i t addresses a few issues related to global HR in the health care industry.
Standards Associated with Health, Safety, and Security
Health service organizations and health care organizations are dangerous places. Caustic and toxic chemicals in the laboratory and pharmacy, slicing equipment in food services, radiation in radiology, ethylene oxide in supply processing, and infections in patient care areas are a few of the many hazards. The health services industry has recognized this danger, and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) has formulated standards for safety in
HSOs/HCOs, including requirements for multidisciplinary committees to identify and correct safety problems and educate employees on the importance of safety. In addition, increased focus on reducing workplace violence is gaining greater attention (Kleiman, 1997). Employers have a responsibility to provide a secure and safe workplace for their employees and customers. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and JCAHO are two organizations whose standards address these issues.
OSHA implements the law that requires organizations to perform three major activities.
1. Promulgation and enforcement of safety standards to eliminate or lessen hazards
2. Record keeping
3. Training and education
You are strongly encouraged as part of this assignment to review the OSHA guidelines at
www.osha.gov regarding the following.
1. Standards
2. Personal protective equipment
3. Hazard communication
4. Blood-borne pathogens
In addition, you should review your state’s laws and federal laws regarding Workers’ Compensation, Family Medical Leave Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
JCAHO also sets standards specifically relating to health, safety, and security. The two primary topic areas are environment of care (EC) and surveillance, prevention, and control of infection. First, health care organizations must provide a safe, functional , and effective environment of care for patients, visitors, medical and nursing staffs, vendors, volunteers, students, and anyone on the organization’s
campus. The standard requires the development of plans that address safety, security, hazardous materials and waste, emergency preparedness, life safety, medical equipment, and utility systems, including regularly inspected back-up generators. These plans promote a safe, secure environment when effectively shared with staff. With education and ongoing supervision, staff members implement
each phase of the plans. With regard to security, JCAHO also considers emergency preparedness part of EC. The Environment of Care standards for JCAHO require member hospitals to conduct emergency preparedness drills regularly. The HR management implications of emergency preparedness are very significant. As proven by the events of September 11, 2001, the importance of having competent, well -trained health care workers that have the ability and ski l ls to provide care in times of disaster has increased in importance (Grice, 2001).
The American Hospital Association, in a member advisory released after the terrorist attacks of September 11, suggested the use of the following checklist in preparing for a disaster.
1. The hospital should focus efforts on a general “al l hazards” plan that provides an adaptable framework for any crisis situation.
2. The hospital should upgrade its disaster plan to include components for mass casual ty terrorism, including chemical or biological incidents.
3. The hospital ’s plan should be integrated with the emergency response agencies in the local community.
4. The hospital should have a plan in place to support the families of staff members. In order for caregivers to remain at their jobs, they need assurance that their families and loved ones are being cared for.
5. The hospital should ensure that its clinical and medical staff report unexpected illness patterns to the public health department and, if appropriate, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Aktinson, 2000).
Second, a significant element of concern covered by JCAHO is infection control . Al l staff in health care organizations have some infection control (IC) responsibilities and must competently perform their assigned role in the organization’s safety management program. JCAHO has a set of standards that specifically address the protection of patients, staff, and visitors and that focus on identifying the
organization’s infection risks and taking the necessary risk-reduction steps. As an example, screening staff for tuberculosis, providing hepatitis B vaccinations, and implementing ongoing education regarding the importance of hand washing are risk-reduction strategies
Health Awareness in the Workplace
Employee health problems are varied, ranging from minor illnesses such as colds to serious illnesses related to the jobs performed. Some problems are chronic; others are transitory, yet health concerns are inevitable and can affect organizational operations and individual employee productivity. Key personal health issues for health care workers include substance abuse, emotional and mental problems, and alcohol or drug problems. In addition, health care workers may also face problems with indoor air quality, latex allergies, inadvertent needle sticks, and slips and falls, hazardous chemicals, cumulative trauma injuries, and blood-borne pathogens. AIDS also poses a unique problem for health service and health care organizations (HSOs/HCOs). Protecting health care workers from patients is compounded by the need to protect patients from health care workers. Universal precautions protect workers and other patients by reducing the risk of cross-infection by assuming that every patient is HIV positive.
Health care employers concerned about maintaining a heal thy workforce must move beyond simply providing heal thy working conditions to emphasizing employee health and wellness in other ways.
Health promotion is a supportive approach to facilitate, encourage, and help employees to enhance heal thy actions and lifestyles. Organizations engage in health promotion by encouraging employees to make physiological , mental , and social choices that improve their health (Downey, 2001). Some components frequently found in successful employee health promotion programs include the following.
1. Wellness Programs: Designed to maintain or improve employee health before problems arise. Wellness programs encourage self-directed lifestyle changes (Gillete, 2001).
2. Employee Assistance Programs: Provide counseling and other help to employees having emotional , physical , or other personal problems.
3. Organizational Health Culture: Emphasizes and supports health efforts. Common to employers promoting a culture of health awareness are integrative, broad-based efforts supported both financially and managerially. Developing policies and procedures supporting health efforts, establishing on-site exercise facilities, and consistently promoting health programs all contribute to creating a health promotion environment throughout the organization.
Safety Management
Effective safety management requires an organizational commitment to safe working conditions, and well -designed and managed safety programs can reduce accidents and associated costs, such as workers’ compensation and possible fines. Further, accidents and other safety concerns do decline when an effective safety management program with a number of components is in place. Some components frequently seen in successful health care safety programs include the following.
1. Safety Committees: Employees frequently are involved in safety planning through safety committees often composed of workers from a variety of levels and departments. A well -trained safety committee is a valuable tool for helping organizations provide a safe workplace for employees and a broader base of support for safety initiatives (Vanderhoof, 2002).
2. Safety Training and Communications: One way to encourage employee safety is to involve all employees at various times in safety training. For example, i t might be necessary for employees to wear safety glasses in a laboratory most of the time. If the glasses are awkward, however, employees may resist using them even when they know they should have protection.
Because of such problems, safety training and communication efforts must address safety issues so that employees view safety as important and are motivated to follow safe work practices.
3. Employee Safety Motivation and Incentives: To encourage health care employees to work safely, many organizations have used safety contests and have given employees incentives for safe work behavior (Casison, 2000).
4. Inspection and Accident Investigation and Evaluation: It is not necessary to wait for an OSHA inspector to inspect the work area for safety hazards; a safety committee or safety coordinator may conduct inspections. Safety inspections should occur on a regular basis because OSHA may inspect organizations with above-average lost workday rates more frequently.
Additionally, given the parallel between JCAHO standards on the Environment of Care and
OSHA standards, many health care organizations conduct mock surveys in advance of a JCAHO visit that are also useful for OSHA compliance (Menard, 2001).
5. Reinforcement and Discipline: Frequently reinforcing the need for safe behavior and supplying
feedback on positive safety practices also are extremely effective in improving worker safety (Blair & Gel ler, 2000). Such efforts must involve employees, supervisors, managers, safety specialists, and HR staff members. Disciplining violators is another important component of the safety program effort.
Security
Traditionally, when health care employers have addressed worker health, safety, and security, they have been concerned mostly about reducing workplace accidents, improving workers’ safety practices, and reducing health hazards at work. Over the past decade, however, providing security for employees, patients, residents, and clients has grown in importance.
Workplace violence has been an increasingly important topic for health care employers (Pi turro, 2001). Incidents of workplace violence occur regularly in hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes. The domestic problems of patients/residents/clients and their family members often erupt in verbal or physical assaults. Health care workers can easily get caught in the middle of these issues, and sometimes they are required to attempt to manage them. Managers, HR staff members, supervisors, and employees should be trained on how to recognize the signs of a potentially violent employee and what to do when violence occurs. For instance, this training may be important for the first contact with an organization, the receptionist, who may need to recognize warning signs of a potentially violent employee, former employee, or outsider. During training at many organizations, participants learn the typical profile of potentially violent employees and are trained to notify the HR department and to refer employees to outside counseling professionals. Employee assistance programs offered by employers often cover those services (Nadel , 2001).
Health care HR professionals, along with health care managers and safety professionals, play key roles in preparing for disaster situations. Given the fact that the health care organizations are both employers and care providers, disaster preparation is important for both the management of internal disasters, such as fires, hazardous chemical leaks or spills, and for dealing with patient care needs or external disasters such as a plane or train accidents may create. In both instances, health care workers are required to perform in extraordinary ways. Their personal safety maybe at risk, or they may have to deal with the patient care needs of a high volume of critically injured or exposed patients.
Persons Responsible for Health, Safety, and Security
Operations managers and HR staff members working together share the general goal of providing a healthy, safe, and secure workplace. The primary health, safety, and security responsibilities in an organization usually fall on supervisors and managers. An HR manager or safety specialist (sometimes called a risk manager) can help coordinate health and safety programs, investigate accidents, produce safety program materials, and conduct formal safety training; however, department supervisors and managers play key roles in maintaining safe working conditions and a healthy workforce. For example, a dental clinic supervisor has several health and safety responsibilities such as reminding employees to wear the appropriate protective equipment and clothing, checking on the cleanliness of the work area, observing employees for any alcohol , drug, or emotional problems that may affect their work behavior, and conducting safety orientations and training in-services.
Global HR
There is a growing internationalization of business operations by both U.S. and foreign-based companies. The U.S., in particular, has been expanding its operations into other countries in order to take advantage of lower production costs, increase its market presence, and in some cases avoid the stricter environmental , taxation, and other regulatory restrictions imposed by the U.S. government.
Companies operating in more than one country are known as multinational corporations. Practically every Fortune 500 Company conducts its operations in one or more foreign country, as do many lesser-established companies.
The HR departments of multinational corporations perform similar functions and have similar objectives as their domestic counterparts; however, they do face unique challenges in performing those functions and accomplishing those objectives when their companies’ operations span a variety of cultures, laws, ethnicities, and languages. Al though a primary function of an HR department is personnel recruitment and selection for both multinational and national companies, the HR department for multinational corporations must devote additional resources and expertise to assisting employees adapt to a foreign land. HR departments for multinationals must assist with orienting prospective employees in, not only with becoming familiar with the company itself, but also with the language, culture, and customs of the country they are assigned to. More extensive relocation plans must also be developed. Translation services must be arranged. Such arrangements are particularly important for managers who are sent overseas to supervise operations manned primarily with foreign workers.
