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.

Bozeman, MT — Industries in which workers are prone to sleep loss should develop and adopt policies that prioritize sleep to ensure better daytime function and well-being, researchers say.

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.

Kuopio, Finland — Being excluded from social interactions on the job can have cascading negative effects on health and well-being, a recent study of Finnish health care workers shows.

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.

Washington — Health care workers are reporting burnout and poor mental health at levels higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

New York — Registered nurses, health technicians and health care support workers face an elevated risk of suicide compared with workers in non-health care fields, results of a recent study indicate.

Toronto — Most workers who use cannabis to treat work-related injuries and illnesses do so without medical guidance or authorization, a recent study out of Canada suggests.