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Washington — OSHA is reopening its rulemaking record on a proposed final rule on COVID-19 focused on health care workers and will host a virtual public hearing next month.

Washington — OSHA recently announced the start of a three-month increase of inspections at hospitals and nursing care facilities that treat COVID-19 patients.

Silver Spring, MD — Claiming the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is “once again responding to political pressures from those desperate to remove any safety protocols during this deadly pandemic that is still causing unacceptable numbers of infections, hospitalizations and deaths every day,” the nation’s largest union and professional association of registered nurses is calling on the agency to reverse its most recent COVID-19 guidance.

Washington — The Senate on Feb. 17 passed legislation intended to help prevent suicide, reduce burnout, and address mental and behavioral health conditions among health care professionals.

Washington — On the eve of National Caregivers Day, OSHA issued a press release urging health care employers to take immediate actions to help safeguard their workers after the industry experienced sharp increases in injuries and illness in 2020.

Sacramento, CA — Aiming to protect physicians and injured workers from exposure to COVID-19, the California Department of Industrial Relations Division of Workers’ Compensation has adopted an emergency regulation that allows medical-legal evaluations to be performed via telehealth.

Boston — Common types of N95 respirators – widely used by health care professionals providing direct care to patients with COVID-19 – can be safely reprocessed up to 25 times to help augment supplies during future pandemics, results of a recent study by Boston researchers suggest.

New York — More than half of nurses in a recent survey say they had trouble sleeping during the first six month of the COVID-19 pandemic – a risk factor for increased feelings of anxiety and depression.

Washington — Reps. Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Alma Adams (D-NC) are calling on the Department of Labor and OSHA to reverse course on the agency’s plan to withdraw the non-recordkeeping portions of its emergency temporary standard for COVID-19 focused on health care workers.

Arlington, VA — Workers who process reusable medical instruments and equipment may be regularly exposed to tissue, blood and patient fluids – even when wearing personal protective equipment, results of a recent study suggest.