Catch up on your Health Wonkery – David Williams has posted Health Wonk Review: Dog Daze 2013 over at Health Business Blog. Judging by the number and variety of entries, it would seem the health wonkers have not been vacationing!
Violence Prevention for Nurses – Free Training – According to NIOSH: “On average, over the last decade, U.S. healthcare workers have accounted for two-thirds of the nonfatal workplace violence injuries in all industries involving days away from work [2]. Healthcare workers face the risk of both physical violence and non-physical violence, such as verbal abuse, on the job. These numbers represent only the assaults that resulted in time away from work and not the less severe physical injuries or the psychological trauma that HCSA workers experience from workplace violence. Additionally, these data only capture the reported incidents. The literature suggests that the number of assaults reported by healthcare workers is greatly underreported.” NIOSH worked with various partners – including nursing and labor organizations, academic groups, other government agencies, and Vida Health Communications, Inc. – to develop a new free on-line course aimed at training nurses in recognizing and preventing workplace violence. The course has 13 units that take approximately 15 minutes each to complete and includes “resume-where-you-left-off” technology. Learn more about the courses at Free On-line Violence Prevention Training for Nurses and the actual course can be accessed here: Workplace Violence Prevention for Nurses CDC Course No. WB1865
Opioids, Workers Comp & iPad Minis – Are opioids a workers compensation issue for your organization? Joe Paduda is seeking participation in his online Survey of Opioids and Workers’ Compensation. You can further our industry knowledge in this area – and potentially win an iPad Mini for your participation. Who should participate? Industry vendors, Insurance Carrier/Providers, Managed Care Organizations, Medical Communities, Third Party Administrators.
Hotshot Firefighters & Workers Comp – At Comp Time, Roberto Ceniceros discusses workers comp issues related to the Arizona Firefighters who recently lost their lives in this year’s mega fire. There are coverage issues of part-time vs full-time workers at issue – one surviving widow is challenging the denial of benefits. In his post, Ceniceros also pointed us to this excellent article: Deaths in Idaho and elsewhere prompt agencies to reform how they protect firefighters.
Safety & Discipline – In a two-part series, Chris Kilbourne examines the issue of safety and discipline. He cites a survey conducted by the law firm Fisher & Phillips, that found “…most companies make little consistent effort to train supervisors on when and how to discipline employees. Too often, Mavity adds, the only time an employer learns that an employee was working unsafely is in the course of a postinjury investigation.” He notes that, “This is a problem for several reasons, including the fact that without a record of disciplinary action, an employer might not be able to demonstrate to OSHA that it is operating an effective safety program.” In part 1, Kilbourne looks at the question of whether employees should be disciplined for safety violations and in part 2, discusses the right way to use discipline to promote safety
Other items that caught our eye this week
- Bad workplace of the week? Bullies with stun guns
- Catastrophic Injuries: Trucking Industry is among the Top 5 Most Catastrophic Occupations
- The science of sinkholes – and what you need to know
- An Amazing Look at WWII Era Workplace Safety Procedures
- Comp Drives Business Out?! PUHLEEZE
- Signs of a Workplace Safety Culture
- The Big Savings Obamacare Critics Miss
- Safe Handing of Advanced Nano Materials
- Wal-Mart signs corporate-wide settlement with OSHA
- Lockout / Tagout Tips for Safer Mining
