Health Care/Social Assistance

Washington — NIOSH is seeking respirator manufacturers and other participants for a new project aimed at determining how well the devices protect workers who have facial hair when beard bands are used.

Pittsburgh — Respiratory Protection Week, intended to promote proper respiratory protection practices via the sharing of related research findings and educational tools, is set for Sept. 3-6.

Dallas — OSHA Region 6 has renewed two of its emphasis programs and revised another.

Washington — A handful of potential OSHA standards have advanced in the rulemaking process, according to the Department of Labor’s Spring 2024 regulatory agenda – released July 5.

Washington — NIOSH has published a step-by-step process for improving the mental health of hospital health care workers.

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency intends to significantly reduce emissions of ethylene oxide – a gas used to sterilize medical devices that’s been linked to cancer and neurological problems – under a new final rule.

Salem, OR — Bipartisan legislation recently introduced in Oregon would strengthen the penalty for assaulting a hospital worker and require hospitals to work harder on preventing violence.

Denver — Legislation recently introduced in Colorado would require hospitals, freestanding ERs, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and federally qualified health centers to establish a workplace violence prevention committee.

Bannockburn, IL — Around 1 out of 4 health care workers don’t feel safe on the job, according to the results of a recent survey.

Cambridge, MA — The median time from a worker’s injury to “first medical service” was either unchanged or shorter early in the COVID-19 pandemic relative to prior years, a new report shows.