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West Central Ohio Regional
Healthcare Alliance eNewsletter |
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TIP OF THE MONTH
Healthier means Happier
It’s hard not to smile while
taking a walk out in the fresh air, running down a
fly ball or splashing around in a pool. The
happiness factor increases when you find an activity
or sport you love to do. Doctors at the National
Institutes of Health say that physical activity also
decreases your appetite in general, and may have a
significant impact on cravings and sweets. |
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HOT TOPIC
CDC Guidance for Businesses and Employees
To Plan and Respond to the 2009–2010 Influenza
Season
CDC is releasing new guidance that recommends
actions that non-healthcare employers should take
now to decrease the spread of seasonal flu and 2009
H1N1 flu in the workplace and to help maintain
business continuity during the 2009–2010 flu
season.The guidance includes additional strategies to
use if flu conditions become more severe and some
new ecommendations regarding when a worker who is
ill with influenza may return to work. The guidance
in this document may change as additional
information about the severity of the 2009-2010
influenza season and the impact of 2009 H1N1
influenza become known. Please check
www.flu.gov
periodically for updated guidance.
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WCORHA UPDATE
OSHA 10-hour Training Course
September 29 & 30, 2009
8 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Grand
Lake Regional Cancer Center
Please contact Ami Boley for details or to register,
Call: 419-584-0398, EMail:
abboley@health-partners.org
Tri-County Worksite Wellness Summit
September 18, 2009
8:00am-12:00pm at Romer’s Catering Hall in Celina,
OH
Please contact
Andrea Delph to register for this very informative
event.
Call: 419-226-9085 Email:
adbeeler@health-partners.org
Continental Breakfast Provided-No Charge to
Attendees-Safety Council Credit
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WELLNESS UPDATE
Tips to Improve Your Sleep,
Nothing to Snooze About
The CDC recognizes sleeping disorders as a
public health challenge. Lack of sleep can cause
onset of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and
depression. Injuries and deaths have occurred
from accidents which have been directly linked
to insufficient sleep, as published by The
American Journal of Epidemiology 12/9/2008.
Getting ready for bed:
- Leave work at work. Start a task list for the
next day.
- Start a sleep journal. List your daily
activities and habits. Focus on finding a
pattern that may interrupt your sleep.
- Limit large amounts of liquids, so you aren’t
awakened to use the bathroom.
- Avoid alcohol. Alcohol prevents deeper stages of
sleep, and will cause you to awaken in the
middle of the night.
- Avoid large meals, high in fat or heavily spiced
foods.
- Avoid caffeine 8 hours before bedtime, as it is
a stimulant and will increase your nervous
system activity. 1 cup of coffee has 105mg of
caffeine. 1 cola has 35-45 mg of caffeine.
- A few hours before bed, let your body know it is
time to get ready for sleep. Dim the lights,
turn off the computer, take a warm bath, read a
good book, or listen to soothing music
Getting your bedroom ready for bed:
- Use plants/flowers for a calming effect.
- Use soothing color schemes in your bedroom.
Bright colors stimulate our minds.
- Turn the clock away from the bed, so you don’t
watch it.
- Keep your room cool. A room that is too hot or
too cold interrupts sleep.
- Use a fan to help provide white noise to block
out the extra noises that my interrupt your
sleep.
- Keep your room dark and quiet.
- Your bed should be comfortable and used for
sleeping, not watching TV, or listening to
music.
- Limit physical activity a few hours before
bedtime.
- Select the right pillow, depending on the your
sleeping position
Should you suspect a sleeping disorder, you can
contact your personal physician to arrange a
sleep study, at a hospital near you.
-Karla Hamblin, RN
Mercer Health
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OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE UPDATE
Mandatory Direct Observation Collections
for DOT
Return-to-Duty and Follow-Up Testing
Mandatory Direct Observation Collections for DOT
Return-to-Duty and Follow-Up Testing
Direct Observation for all DOT Return-to-Duty and
Follow-Up drug testing becomes mandatory rather than
remain an employer’s option. Please remember that
Monday, August 31, 2009, is the effective date.
On August 31st, be sure to check-out the DOT website
for updates to the following downloadable documents:
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What Employees Need to Know
About DOT Drug and Alcohol Testing
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What Employers Need to Know
About DOT Drug and Alcohol Testing
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DOT's Direct Observation
Procedures Poster
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Urine Specimen Collection
Guidelines
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The Substance Abuse
Professionals Guidelines
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Drug and Alcohol Testing
Rule [49 CFR Part 40]
WCORHA Members Encouraged to Participate in
Drug-Free Work Week
October 19-25 is National Drug-Free Work Week, and
all area employers are encouraged to participate.
The purpose of Drug-Free Work Week is to highlight
that being drug-free is a key to workplace safety
and health and to encourage workers with alcohol and
drug problems to seek help.
Drug-Free Work Week is sponsored by the U.S.
Department of Labor in coordination with members of
its Drug-Free Workplace Alliance. If you are
interested in learning about specific ideas on how
your company can support Drug-Free Work Week, visit
the Working Partners for an Alcohol-and Drug-Free
Workplace website at
www.dol.gov/workingpartners and click on
“Drug-Free Work Week”.
For information on how to become a Drug Free
Workplace facility contact your WCORHA rep; Ami
Boley-419-584-0398, or Dan Schroeder, 419-226-9851
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OSHA UPDATE
Emergency Exit Review
A corporate Emergency Action Plan should be a
considered a live document with continuous updates.
Regularly review the facility means of egress for
the following:
• Exit routes must be a permanent part of the
workplace.
• Exit discharges must lead directly outside or to a
street, walkway, refuge area, public way, or open
space with access to the outside. These exit
discharge areas must be large enough to accommodate
the building occupants likely to use the exit route.
• Exit stairs that continue beyond the level on
which the exit discharge is located must be
interrupted at that level by doors, partitions, or
other effective means that clearly indicate the
direction of travel leading to the exit discharge.
• Exit route doors must be unlocked from the inside.
• Side-hinged exit doors must be used to connect
rooms to exit routes. These doors must swing out in
the direction of exit travel if the room is to be
occupied by more than 50 people or if the room is a
high-hazard area.
• Ceilings of exit routes must be at least 7 feet, 6
inches high.
• An exit access must be at least 28 inches wide at
all points.
New employees should be instructed during
orientation where their emergency exits are located.
Employees who are transferred from one area to
another must be updated with the exits for their new
work zone and remember to alert all contract workers
with this information.
-Maria Bayless, PHR, OS
OSHA Outreach Trainer |
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