Health Care Workers

Silver Spring, MD — Global Nurses United is demanding stronger COVID-19 guidance from the World Health Organization, including a call for more personal protective equipment for health care workers and acknowledgement from WHO on how the virus is spread.

New York — More than half of dentists have experienced verbal aggression from patients within the past year, and more than 1 out of 5 have been the victim of physical aggression, results of a recent survey show.

Toronto — Feelings of anxiety and depression were highest among workers whose perceived personal protective equipment and infection control needs were not met during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the results of a recent study out of Canada.

Washington — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is providing $1.5 million for research aimed at reducing occupational hazards in health care and manufacturing via the development and use of collaborative robots, or “cobots.”

Washington — NIOSH has approved – for both personal protection and source control – the first elastomeric half-mask respirator without an exhalation valve.

New York — The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has teamed up with multiple veterinary organizations to develop a free resource guide designed to support workplaces in the aftermath of a veterinary worker’s death by suicide and help prevent additional deaths.

Washington — OSHA has issued guidance intended to help employers in the long-term care industry protect the respiratory health of workers in nursing homes, assisted living and other LTC facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

San Francisco — The Washington State Nurses Association is among four labor unions suing Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia and OSHA in an effort to compel the agency to move forward with rulemaking on an infectious diseases standard that would require employers in the health care industry to protect workers from exposure to harmful infectious diseases such as COVID-19, Ebola and influenza.

Chicago — The American Medical Association has made available five new open access educational modules in an effort to provide physicians with proven strategies to support their well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sacramento, CA — A bill signed into law Sept. 29 by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will require certain hospitals in the state to create and maintain at least a three-month supply of personal protective equipment, and ensure nurses and other health care workers use the PPE supplied to them.