June 11, 2024

Tips and Tools for a Successful Accreditation Survey

Employee Health

Quiz Time

Answer the following True/False questions (answer below)

1. T or F – While emptying the trash in a patient care area, you get stuck by a needle that should have been placed in a sharps container. The first thing you should do is call your personal physician.

2. T or F – Workplace violence is NOT part of the job in Healthcare.

3. T or F – You do not have to get a flu vaccine or complete a waiver yearly in Healthcare.

4. T or F – If I am sick, my manager is required to complete an illness report.

5. T or F – The Onaga lab will have copies of the current blood exposure form to complete in the event of a blood or body fluid exposure.

Answer: 1. FALSE-wash the site for several minutes and notify your supervisor IMMEDIATELY, 2. True, 3. FALSE – the flu vaccine is a condition of employment at CHCS (contact the Employee Health Nurse if you have questions), 4. True, 5. True.

Employee Health Nurse Information

Christina Hasenkamp is the Employee Health Nurse for CHCS.

What does she help with?

Offering different health care services to protect employees
Recommended vaccinations for all employees
Conducts fit testing for N95 respirators annually
Provides education on the following to employees
Hazardous drugs
PAPRs
Vaccine Preventable diseases
Workplace violence prevention
Workplace injury prevention.
Bloodborne pathogen exposure education and post-exposure follow up

Employee Health and Safe Practices

Blood or body fluid exposure by staff: What do I do?!?!

1. Wash the site of exposure with soap and water IMMEDIATELY!

2. Flush exposure of the nose and mouth with water IMMEDIATELY!

3. Irrigate eyes with clean water, saline or sterile solution.

4. NOTIFY your shift supervisor and the employee health nurse RIGHT AWAY!

5. Onaga’s lab and St. Mary’s labs have current forms for blood exposure.

6. When reporting an exposure provide the following:

Information regarding the source (i.e. patient, unknown, staff etc.…)
Source patient has to have labs drawn. They need to stay until labs can be drawn.
Risk factors for the source (know illnesses or disease)

7. Further information regarding exposure is available at PowerDMS – Employee Health Forms: Post Exposure- Quick Guide for Occupational Exposures

Sharps/Needle Safety:

Needle & sharps containers MUST be in a secure location and not more than 2/3 full.
Don’t Bend, Break or Recap needles!

Workplace Injury/Great Catch!

What do you do if you have a workplace injury?

1. Assess the situation for hazards to make sure you and your co-workers are safe.

2. Seek medical help immediately. Do not delay being evaluated either in the clinic or in the Emergency department.

3. Notify your managers/supervisor and Employee Health about the incident.

4. Go to Quality Data Checks and create an incident report.

A safe workplace does not happen by accident! Great Catch

You can help prevent serious accidents and injuries by reporting any hazards you encounter to your manager/supervisor.

Workplace Violence:

NOT “part of the job”

What is it? - As defined by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) – workplace violence is violent acts (including physical assaults and threats of assaults) directed toward persons at work or on duty.

Workplace violence in healthcare is believed to be under reported.

CHCS – has established a Patient/Visitor Code of conduct. “Employees, patients, vendors, and third parties are prohibited from making threats or engaging in violent activities.”

CHCS employees are responsible to report suspected or know workplace violence to their manager/supervisor. Then completed a Quality Data checks incident report.

Employee Health & Infection Control Education:

When do I get education for Infection Control?

On hire all staff receive infection control information in New Hire orientation.
Annually competency completed in CHCS’s Learning Management system, Relias. (we formally used HealthStream)
As needed based on current events and activities in the state.

Employee Health Information:

Yearly flu vaccination and annual health assessment are conditions of employment.
Proof of MMR immunity or completed vaccination series is condition of employment.
All new hires after 2018 are also required to have poof of a Tdap vaccination, Hepatitis B vaccination or Immune Varicella titer.
Reveiw COVID-19 vaccine status with employees
IF you are sick and miss a day of work, your manager will complete an illness report and send it to Employee Health.
Contact your Employee Health Nurse at Ext. 5109 / Infection Control Nurse at Ext. 5021 with any question or concerns.

Questions? Send them to mandathompson@chcsks.org