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Sacramento, CA – Lawmakers in the California Assembly on May 19 approved a bill intended to improve protections for health care workers and patients exposed to toxic fumes in surgical settings.

Washington – Threats of physical violence from students can result in teachers becoming discontented with the profession – and sometimes quitting it altogether, according to a newly released report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics.

Atlanta – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched a campaign intended to improve hand hygiene in the health care industry.

Silver Spring, MD – The American Nurses Association is calling on nurses to “help make their workplaces safer to enhance patient care and nurses’ health and well-being” during National Nurses Week.

Washington – Congressional Democrats are urging OSHA to pursue a rule on preventing workplace violence in the health care industry, following the publication of a Government Accountability Office report that concludes the agency could do more to help keep health care workers safe on the job.

Boston – Hospitals and other health care facilities in Massachusetts would be required to develop and implement workplace violence prevention programs to protect their workers as part of legislation advancing through the state House and Senate.

Washington – The Food and Drug Administration has proposed banning powdered surgical gloves, powdered patient examination gloves and absorbable powder for lubricating surgical gloves in an effort to protect health care workers and patients from potentially fatal allergic reactions and other health problems.

Pittsburgh – Some N95 respirators are resistant to fluid penetration, potentially increasing the amount of respirator options that could protect health care workers from occupational exposures during emergencies such as influenza outbreaks, according to a study from NIOSH.

London – In an effort to help protect health care workers who work with patients carrying the Zika virus, the journal BMJ has released a set of free online resources.

New York – Fewer than 1 in 5 nurses adhere to all nine standard precautions for preventing infection, potentially exposing them to bloodborne pathogens, according to a study from Northwell Health system.