A Special Recognition to National Nurses Week
HOUSTON
May Issue 2016
Inside This Issue
RESPIRATORY PROTECTION ESSENTIALS: Preparing health care employees for the next pandemic By Valerie N. Butera, J.D. Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
Each Physician Generates an Average $1.56 Million a Year per Hospital See pg. 8
INDEX Healthy Heart................pg.4 Oncology Research......pg.6 The Framework..............pg.9 Age Well Live Well........pg.14
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) recognizes that the health care industry is among the most dangerous industries to work for in the United States. Health care employees are more likely to be exposed to various infectious respiratory illnesses spread through airborne and droplet routes, such as tuberculosis, influenza, and pandemics. Employees who work in or near areas where there are patients suspected of having a disease that can be spread by airborne transmission should be using proper respiratory
protection to minimize exposure of in health care facilities where airborne transmission of diseases is likely. The airborne diseases. findings of the study are alarming – In March 2016, the National evidence collected during the study Institute for Occupational Safety and indicated gaps in hospitals’ respiratory Health (“NIOSH”) published the protection policies and wide-spread results of a multi-year surveillance study failure by health care employees to use see RESPIRATORY PROTECTION page 20 examining the efficacy of respirator use
Advancing nursing education and practice in the U.S. and Peru Texas Woman’s University forms U.S. - Peruvian collaborations By Laura Byerley
Inflammation and Diet See pg . 16
nursing. Membrillo, now an operating room nurse at Clinica Santa Isabel Growing up in Lima, Peru, in Lima, Peru, hopes to improve the Nataly Membrillo saw the challenges outlook for Peruvian nurses. that her mother and aunt faced Through Texas Woman’s as nurse technicians — one-to-30 University’s Houston-based Center nurse-to-patient ratios, low salaries and for Global Nursing Scholarship, less respect than their U.S. counterparts. Membrillo and Tania Benavides, a Despite witnessing those difficulties, fifth-semester nursing student at Peru’s Nursing faculty and students from the Texas Membrillo says a love of service Nacional Pedro Ruiz Gallo University, Woman’s University Houston campus visited convinced her to pursue a career in had the opportunity to discuss Peru in 2015, where they participated in health forums, presented research and visited nursing Peruvian nursing education and schools and clinics as part the TWU Center for practice issues at the Texas Nursing Global Nursing Scholarship initiative with Peru. Students’ Association’s 68th annual Edwards says the Texas Nursing convention. The convention took place Students’ Association has begun earlier this year in Arlington. collecting textbooks to send to nursing At a breakout session facilitated schools in Peru, where textbooks are by Joan Edwards, Ph.D., director of often outdated. TWU’s Center for Global Nursing After this collaboration is Scholarship, they spoke about a future established, Edwards plans to initiate collaboration between the Peruvian further interaction with the Texas Nursing Students’ Association and the Nurses Association and Peruvian see Texas Woman’s University page 22 Texas Nursing Students’ Association.
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO 1 HOUSTON TX