April 2005
Cover Story
By Ellen Kessler, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.P.
WHEN most companies consider the high cost of health care, their immediate thoughts generally focus in on medical insurance premiums. However, it's those often subtler, sneakier expenses that tend to drive up an organization's health-related cost of doing business.
Features
By Casey Hayes
INDUSTRIAL safety and first response used to be at least straightforward, if not incredibly simple. One evaluated his or her risks and needs:
By Rudolph S. Caparros, Sr.
USERS of chlorine now regulated by the newly created 2003 International Fire Code and the 2003 Edition of the Uniform Fire Code are pleased to find they are no longer required to have a scrubber when storing or using 150-lb cylinders or one-ton containers of liquefied chlorine gas.
By Julie Nussbaum
WHEN an employee is injured on the job, the incident usually triggers a predictable series of events. First and foremost is getting the employee appropriate treatment for the injury.
By Jerry Laws
INTERESTINGLY, it may be perfectly acceptable to wear tennis shoes while installing sheet metal weatherproofing on a steeply pitched roof. At least, that was the thrust of a May 2004 interpretation letter from the chief of OSHA's Construction Directorate.
By Mary Bunkers, RN, BSN, COHN-S, John Kuhnlein, DO, MPH, CIME, FACPM, FACOEM
ACCORDING to the American Heart Association, sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, striking more than 340,000 people each year, or 930 people each day.
By Jerry Laws
Editor's note: Static postures aren't harmless; they can cause low back pain, varicose veins, and other problems. Sit to stand postures are preferable, says Ann Hall, marketing manager for LINAK U.S. Inc. LINAK, a Scandinavian company with its North and South American headquarters located in Louisville, Ky., provides movement by electric actuation for customers who design and manufacture a multitude of finished products, including sit-stand desks.
By Larry Wilson
THE statement "All injuries can be prevented" has been bandied around for decades. Some people even have added, "All injuries can and should be prevented." In theory, these statements may be partially true. But in reality, millions and millions of injuries occur every day, in every corner of the world, and this has been going on forever.
By Judith Green-McKenzie, M.D., MPH, FACOEM, FACP, Marilyn Watkins, MSN, CRN
EXPOSURE to bloodborne pathogens (BBPs) is an occupational hazard for many workers, including, among others, health care workers, law enforcement officers, fire service personnel, funeral service employees, body piercers, day care workers, environmental service workers, and wastewater workers.
By Fred Elliott
OVER-the-counter medications can be "the right stuff" for colds, allergies, first aid, fevers, headaches, and pain in general. They're relatively inexpensive and readily available--all too readily, considering the ease and potential risks of ordering and refilling via online sources.
Departments
By Jerry Laws
THE skilled labor shortage that will strike American industry in three to five years is much like a tsunami, says George Carpenter, president and CEO of WorkWell Systems Inc. of Aliso Viejo, Calif.: Smart companies see it coming and are investing to maintain the healthy, long-term employees they require. Short-term thinkers will be awash.