A construction subcontractor in New Jersey learned a hard lesson in March 2026: a certificate of insurance confirming wrap-up enrollment does not guarantee actual coverage.
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Tuesday, April 7, 2026
Friday, January 16, 2026
Safety Training Saves Lives and Money
The Real Cost of Inadequate Training
The financial impact of workplace accidents extends far beyond immediate medical costs. When an employee is injured on the job, the average cost per medically consulted injury reaches approximately $42,000. For fatalities, that number exceeds $1.3 million per employee. These figures don't account for indirect costs like lost productivity, temporary replacement workers, overtime pay, legal fees, and increased insurance premiums.
Consider the ripple effects: an injured worker typically misses eight days of work on average, though serious injuries can result in 18 or more days of absence. During this time, other team members must pick up the slack, productivity declines, and business operations suffer. A study by the Integrated Benefits Institute found that for every dollar spent on healthcare benefits, an additional $0.61 in productivity is lost due to illness and injury.
Safety Training: A Proven ROI
The good news? Investing in workplace safety training delivers remarkable returns. OSHA research demonstrates that employers save $4 to $6 for every $1 invested in effective safety programs. A groundbreaking California study revealed even more impressive results: workplaces that underwent Cal/OSHA inspections experienced a 9.4% drop in injury claims and 26% average savings on workers' compensation costs over four years—saving an estimated $355,000 per inspected firm.
Real-world case studies confirm these findings:
- A logistics company reduced workers' compensation claims by 25% after revamping its safety training program
- A manufacturing facility achieved a 40% reduction in accident rates within one year of implementing rigorous safety training
- A trucking fleet saved over $250,000 annually by reducing collisions through comprehensive driver safety programs
The New Worker Risk Factor
Recent data from Travelers Companies reveals a concerning trend: new employees face a disproportionately higher risk of injury. Analysis of over 2.6 million workers' compensation claims shows that inadequate training during the crucial first weeks of employment significantly increases the likelihood of accidents.
This vulnerability affects all industries but is particularly acute in high-risk sectors like construction, manufacturing, healthcare, and transportation. Companies that implement structured onboarding with comprehensive safety training during an employee's first 30-90 days see dramatically lower injury rates.
Top Causes of Preventable Workplace Injuries
According to the latest research, the two leading causes of workplace injuries are:
- Overexertion (29% of injuries): Improper lifting techniques, repetitive motions, and physical strain
- Slips, Trips, and Falls (23% of injuries): Wet surfaces, cluttered walkways, inadequate lighting, and improper footwear
Combined, these two categories alone cost employers $32.65 billion in 2024. Both are highly preventable through proper training and workplace modifications.
Building an Effective Safety Culture
Creating a culture of safety requires more than one-time training sessions. Industry leaders recommend:
Comprehensive Onboarding: New employees should receive role-specific safety training before beginning work. This includes hazard recognition, proper equipment use, emergency procedures, and reporting protocols.
Ongoing Education: Regular refresher courses keep safety top of mind and address emerging hazards. Digital training platforms make it easy to deliver consistent, trackable training across all locations.
Hazard-Specific Training: Focus on the most common risks in your industry. Manufacturing facilities need machinery safety protocols, construction sites require fall protection training, and healthcare workers need proper patient handling techniques.
Heat Illness Prevention: For outdoor and industrial workers, heat-related illness prevention training is critical, especially during the summer months. Workers need to recognize symptoms, understand acclimatization periods, and know when to seek medical attention.
Ergonomic Training: Teaching proper posture, lifting techniques, and workstation setup can reduce the risk of repetitive strain injuries by up to 30%.
The Impact on Experience Modification Rates
Workers' compensation premiums are calculated using your company's Experience Modification Rate (EMR), which compares your claims history to others in your industry. An EMR of 1.0 is average; below 1.0 results in premium discounts, while above 1.0 means surcharges.
Every prevented accident directly improves your EMR and reduces premiums. Companies that implement robust safety training programs often see their EMR drop significantly over 2-3 years, resulting in substantial long-term savings.
Beyond Cost Savings
While the financial benefits are compelling, the human impact matters most. Effective safety training:
- Protects workers from life-altering injuries
- Demonstrates employer commitment to employee well-being
- Improves employee morale and retention
- Enhances the company's reputation as an employer of choice
- Reduces regulatory violations and OSHA penalties
- Boosts overall productivity and efficiency
Taking Action
The evidence is clear: comprehensive safety training is not an expense—it's a strategic investment that protects both people and profits. Organizations that embrace proactive safety programs reduce claims, lower insurance costs, and create safer, more productive workplaces.
As workplace safety expert Rick Finemann of Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies emphasizes, "The dollars tied up in claims are staggering, but the real cost is in the human impact and the productivity you lose. That's why prevention is always more powerful than paying claims after the fact."
Every accident prevented is a life protected and a cost avoided. The time to invest in safety training is now—before the next preventable injury occurs.
Key Resources
OSHA Business Case for Safety and Health
https://www.osha.gov/businesscase
Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index
https://business.libertymutual.com/insights/workplace-safety-index/
National Safety Council
https://www.nsc.org/workplace
Compliance Solutions - Safety Training ROI
https://csregs.com/blogs/eh-s-e-learning/financial-benefits-of-preventing-workplace-injuries-through-safety-training
EHS Today - Online Safety Training and Workers' Comp
https://www.ehstoday.com/training-and-engagement/article/55323536/online-safety-training-is-a-direct-path-to-reducing-workers-compensation-premiums
Blog: Workers' Compensation
LinkedIn: JonGelman
LinkedIn Group: Injured Workers Law & Advocacy Group
Author: "Workers' Compensation Law" West-Thomson-Reuters
Mastodon:@gelman@mstdn.social
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© 2026 Jon L Gelman. All rights reserved.
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Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
This blog post was updated on 1/16/2026
Monday, October 31, 2022
Judge Erred in Finding a Conflict in Representation
Ameribuilt Contractors appealed the workers' compensation judge's February 1, 2022 order rejecting a proposed settlement and disqualifying its assigned insurance counsel, Brown & Connery, LLP (B&C), on the basis of a perceived conflict between Ameribuilt's workers' compensation carrier, Travelers Property Casualty Insurance Co. (Travelers), and Travelers' ostensible insured, respondent Robert Alam. The court concluded that the judge erred in finding that a conflict existed and, thus, there was no basis for the disqualification. Accordingly, the court is constrained to reverse.
Tuesday, August 23, 2022
US DOT Bill of Rights for Passengers with Disabilities
In its ongoing work to protect airline passengers, USDOT moves forward with pro-consumer actions.
Friday, April 30, 2021
NJ Governor Murphy Signs the Healthy Terminals Act
NJ Governor Phil Murphy today signed the Healthy Terminals Act (S989) which creates new minimum wage and benefits requirements for certain Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and Newark Liberty International Train Station workers. The legislation will expand access to livable wages and affordable health care for workers at the airport and train station who often cannot afford employer-provided health care plans.
Monday, February 1, 2021
CDC issues mandate on wearing of face masks while on conveyances and at transportation hubs
Many of the nation’s employers and employees will be impacted by a recent mask mandate promulgated by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This national Order will establish a uniform science and medical evidence strategy to prevent the transmission of SARS-CoV2 (coronavirus) and the emerging spread of variants of the disease.
Friday, January 22, 2021
Is the workers' compensation system ready for the COVID-19 [coronavirus] virus? Live Updates
It seems that every decade a new pandemic emerges on the world scene, and complacency continues to exist in the workers’ compensation arena to meet the emerging challenges of infectious disease.
Wednesday, November 18, 2020
Federal Preemption of State Medical Billing Schedules
Medical benefits are a significant factor in the overall costs of of most state workers compensation programs. The ability to contain those costs is at the very heart of the viability of most workers’ compensation systems. Federal preemption of state medical fee schedules and regulations are a prevailing challenge to the patchwork of non-uniform state benefit programs.
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
NJ Supreme Court Holds Subrogation Conflict Does Not Exist Between Workers’ Compensation and the Auto Insurance Statute
In a PER CURIAM opinion, the NJ Supreme Court held that there is no conflict between the Workers’ Compensation Act and Automobile Insurance Laws. Subrogation was permitted.
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
CDC Coronavirus Guidance Sets a Standard for Employer Responsibility and Liability
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] has issued an interim guidance based on what is currently known about the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The guidance sets out a plan of containment initially, and if that fails, mitigation of the spread of this very contagious and potentially fatal disease. If employers follow the guidance, in all likelihood workers' compensation issues will arise as to the payment of temporary and medical benefits following from occupational exposure at work to the COVID-19.
Thursday, December 26, 2019
Public Policy and Multi-Jurisdictional Claims
A NJ appellate court has ruled that public policy favors litigation in the State of New Jersey were there exists a dispute over multi-jurisdictional choice of law issues governing workers’ compensation insurance coverage in NJ.
Monday, March 21, 2016
Garlock reaches $480 Million settlement on asbestos claims
Garlock plans to emerge from bankruptcy and establish a trust in the amount of $480 Million to pay asbestos claimants and their families. Garlock a member of the EnPro Industries consortium had made asbestos gaskets.Asbestos is a known carcinogen and causally connected with lung cancer, mesothelioma and other malignancies as well as asbestosis.
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Drivers' Protected From Being Forced to Violate Safety Regulations
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today announced the publication in the Federal Register of a Final Rule to help further safeguard commercial truck and bus drivers from being compelled to violate federal safety regulations. The Rule provides FMCSA with the authority to take enforcement action not only against motor carriers, but also against shippers, receivers, and transportation intermediaries.
“Our nation relies on millions of commercial vehicle drivers to move people and freight, and we must do everything we can to ensure that they are able to operate safely,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “This Rule enables us to take enforcement action against anyone in the transportation chain who knowingly and recklessly jeopardizes the safety of the driver and of the motoring public.”
The Final Rule addresses three key areas concerning driver coercion: procedures for commercial truck and bus drivers to report incidents of coercion to the FMCSA, steps the agency could take when responding to such allegations, and penalties that may be imposed on entities found to have coerced drivers.
“Any time a motor carrier, shipper, receiver, freight-forwarder, or broker demands that a schedule be met, one that the driver says would be impossible without violating hours-of-service restrictions or other safety regulations, that is coercion,” said FMCSA Acting Administrator Scott Darling. “No commercial driver should ever feel compelled to bypass important federal safety regulations and potentially endanger the lives of all travelers on the road.”
In formulating this Rule, the agency heard from commercial drivers who reported being pressured to violate federal safety regulations with implicit or explicit threats of job termination, denial of subsequent trips or loads, reduced pay, forfeiture of favorable work hours or transportation jobs, or other direct retaliations.
Some of the FMCSA regulations drivers reported being coerced into violating included: hours-of-service limitations designed to prevent fatigued driving, commercial driver’s license (CDL) requirements, drug and alcohol testing, the transportation of hazardous materials, and commercial regulations applicable to, among others, interstate household goods movers and passenger carriers.
Commercial truck and bus drivers have had whistle-blower protection through the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) since 1982, when the Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA) was adopted. The STAA and OSHA regulations protect drivers and other individuals working for commercial motor carriers from retaliation for reporting or engaging in activities related to certain commercial motor vehicle safety, health, or security conditions. STAA provides whistleblower protection for drivers who report coercion complaints under this Final Rule and are then retaliated against by their employer.
In June 2014, FMCSA and OSHA signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen the coordination and cooperation between the agencies regarding the anti-retaliation provision of the STAA. The Memorandum allows for the exchange of safety, coercion, and retaliation allegations, when received by one agency, that fall under the authority of the other.
For more information on what constitutes coercion and how to submit a complaint to FMCSA, see: www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/coercion. Please note: the Final Rule takes effect 60 days following its publication in the Federal Register.
This rulemaking was authorized by Section 32911 of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) and the Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984 (MCSA), as amended.
For a copy of today’s Federal Register announcement, see: www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/11/30/2015-30237/prohibiting-coercion-of-commercial-motor-vehicle-drivers.
“Our nation relies on millions of commercial vehicle drivers to move people and freight, and we must do everything we can to ensure that they are able to operate safely,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “This Rule enables us to take enforcement action against anyone in the transportation chain who knowingly and recklessly jeopardizes the safety of the driver and of the motoring public.”
The Final Rule addresses three key areas concerning driver coercion: procedures for commercial truck and bus drivers to report incidents of coercion to the FMCSA, steps the agency could take when responding to such allegations, and penalties that may be imposed on entities found to have coerced drivers.
“Any time a motor carrier, shipper, receiver, freight-forwarder, or broker demands that a schedule be met, one that the driver says would be impossible without violating hours-of-service restrictions or other safety regulations, that is coercion,” said FMCSA Acting Administrator Scott Darling. “No commercial driver should ever feel compelled to bypass important federal safety regulations and potentially endanger the lives of all travelers on the road.”
In formulating this Rule, the agency heard from commercial drivers who reported being pressured to violate federal safety regulations with implicit or explicit threats of job termination, denial of subsequent trips or loads, reduced pay, forfeiture of favorable work hours or transportation jobs, or other direct retaliations.
Some of the FMCSA regulations drivers reported being coerced into violating included: hours-of-service limitations designed to prevent fatigued driving, commercial driver’s license (CDL) requirements, drug and alcohol testing, the transportation of hazardous materials, and commercial regulations applicable to, among others, interstate household goods movers and passenger carriers.
Commercial truck and bus drivers have had whistle-blower protection through the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) since 1982, when the Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA) was adopted. The STAA and OSHA regulations protect drivers and other individuals working for commercial motor carriers from retaliation for reporting or engaging in activities related to certain commercial motor vehicle safety, health, or security conditions. STAA provides whistleblower protection for drivers who report coercion complaints under this Final Rule and are then retaliated against by their employer.
In June 2014, FMCSA and OSHA signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen the coordination and cooperation between the agencies regarding the anti-retaliation provision of the STAA. The Memorandum allows for the exchange of safety, coercion, and retaliation allegations, when received by one agency, that fall under the authority of the other.
For more information on what constitutes coercion and how to submit a complaint to FMCSA, see: www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/coercion. Please note: the Final Rule takes effect 60 days following its publication in the Federal Register.
This rulemaking was authorized by Section 32911 of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) and the Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984 (MCSA), as amended.
For a copy of today’s Federal Register announcement, see: www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/11/30/2015-30237/prohibiting-coercion-of-commercial-motor-vehicle-drivers.
….
Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author of NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson-Reuters). For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.
Monday, January 5, 2015
Asbestos Judgement Final: Second Circuit confirms asbestos judgment against Travelers
| Congratuations to Motley Rice for successfully concluding a long and arduous fight on behalf of asbestos victims. U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT CONFIRMS ASBESTOS JUDGMENT AGAINST TRAVELERS MT. PLEASANT, SC – (January 5, 2015) – Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, by denying a request for rehearing and a rehearing en banc, confirmed that the Settlement Agreements Travelers agreed to in 2004 were binding and enforceable contracts between the parties, that all conditions had been satisfied, and that, in an attempt to avoid its obligation to thousands of asbestos victims, whatever Travelers’ “private hopes and dreams were,” they were not supported by the language of the agreement. “Travelers now has to finally live up to its commitment and provide rightful compensation to asbestos victims who waited more than a decade for this to be settled and done with,” says Motley Rice co-founder Joe Rice. “We are gratified that perseverance by all involved has resulted in this positive, and now, final ruling.” Attorneys with Motley Rice LLC have played a central role in the litigation against Travelers for its alleged breach of duty to the injured asbestos victims for more than 20 years. This litigation was spearheaded out of the consolidated asbestos litigation in West Virginia State Court and then transferred... |
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Monday, December 1, 2014
Notable Absence of New Ebola Quarantines at New York Area Airports
Today's post is shared from nytimes.com/
A day after a doctor who had returned from Guinea about a week earlier became New York’s first Ebola case, the governors of New York and New Jersey announced that they would begin quarantining travelers who had been in contact with Ebola patients in West Africa.
The move, which went beyond federal policy, drew protests from medical aid groups and the Obama administration, who said it would penalize people who were trying to contain Ebola and discourage others from doing so.
But since Kaci Hickox, a nurse, flew into Newark’s airport on Oct. 24 and was kept at a hospital for three days, no one else has been caught up in the quarantine dragnet at the New York and New Jersey airports.
The absence of quarantines is striking, not only because both governors emphatically defended the policy as a necessary precaution, but also because most people returning from Ebola-stricken countries arrive in the United States through Kennedy and Newark Liberty International Airports. Several aid organizations have American health care workers in West Africa, a handful of whom return every week. But New York and New Jersey officials say no one coming through the two airports since Ms. Hickox has reported direct contact with Ebola patients.
“I don’t think we can speculate on whether or not it’s out of the ordinary,” Monica Mahaffey, a spokeswoman for the New York State Health Department, said.
Possible explanations, based on interviews with several doctors who...
[Click here to see the rest of this post]
A day after a doctor who had returned from Guinea about a week earlier became New York’s first Ebola case, the governors of New York and New Jersey announced that they would begin quarantining travelers who had been in contact with Ebola patients in West Africa.
The move, which went beyond federal policy, drew protests from medical aid groups and the Obama administration, who said it would penalize people who were trying to contain Ebola and discourage others from doing so.
But since Kaci Hickox, a nurse, flew into Newark’s airport on Oct. 24 and was kept at a hospital for three days, no one else has been caught up in the quarantine dragnet at the New York and New Jersey airports.
The absence of quarantines is striking, not only because both governors emphatically defended the policy as a necessary precaution, but also because most people returning from Ebola-stricken countries arrive in the United States through Kennedy and Newark Liberty International Airports. Several aid organizations have American health care workers in West Africa, a handful of whom return every week. But New York and New Jersey officials say no one coming through the two airports since Ms. Hickox has reported direct contact with Ebola patients.
“I don’t think we can speculate on whether or not it’s out of the ordinary,” Monica Mahaffey, a spokeswoman for the New York State Health Department, said.
Possible explanations, based on interviews with several doctors who...
[Click here to see the rest of this post]
Thursday, October 30, 2014
CDC Issues Revised Interim U.S. Guidance for Monitoring and Movement of Persons with Potential Ebola Virus Exposure
CDC Issues Revised Interim U.S. Guidance for Monitoring and Movement of Persons with Potential Ebola Virus Exposure
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued today revised Interim U.S. Guidance for Monitoring and Movement of Persons with Ebola Virus Exposure. This guidance (hyperlink to the guidance here) provides new information public health authorities and other partners can use to determine appropriate public health actions based on Ebola exposure risk factors and clinical presentation. It also includes criteria for monitoring exposed people and for when movement restrictions may be needed.
In determining the right approach, we have put the health and safety of Americans first and foremost, and our deliberations have been informed by our most knowledgeable and experienced public health and homeland security professionals. As with everything we have done to respond to the threat of Ebola both at home and abroad, we have been guided by the best science available.
Coordinated public health actions are essential to stop and reverse the spread of Ebola virus. CDC announced last week that public health authorities will begin active post-arrival monitoring of travelers whose travel originates in Liberia, Sierra Leone, or Guinea and arrive at one of the five airports in the United States doing enhanced screening. The revised interim guidance released today is intended to guide state and local health officials with decisions about managing the movement of individuals being monitored, including travelers from the countries with widespread transmission and others who may have been exposed in the United States.
Active post-arrival monitoring means that travelers without febrile illness or symptoms consistent with Ebola will be contacted daily by state and local health departments for 21 days from the date of their departure from Liberia, Sierra Leone, or Guinea. Six states (New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, and Georgia), where approximately 70% of incoming travelers are headed, will start active monitoring today, with the remainder of the states starting in the days following.
This guidance also outlines appropriate public health actions for those individuals classified as “some risk.” These include health care workers who are providing direct care to Ebola patients in West Africa or others, such as observers, who enter an Ebola treatment area where Ebola patients are being cared for. Additional precautions, such as direct active monitoring, are recommended for those classified as “some risk.” In addition, the guidance recommends public health authorities determine on an individualized case-by-case basis whether additional restrictions, such as controlled movement, workplace exclusions, or restrictions on other activities, are appropriate. This daily health consultation will give additional confidence to the community that a returning health care worker is asymptomatic and therefore not contagious.
Returning health care workers should be treated with dignity and respect. They, along with our civilian and military personnel in the region, are working tirelessly on the frontlines against Ebola, and their success is what ultimately will enable us to eliminate the threat of additional domestic Ebola cases. We must not prevent or unduly discourage them from undertaking this indispensable and selfless work.
Guidance for returning health care workers from West Africa should be distinguished from health care workers providing care for Ebola patients in the United States. There are important differences between providing care or performing public health tasks in Africa versus in a U.S. hospital. A U.S. hospital provides a more controlled setting than a field hospital in West Africa. A U.S. healthcare worker would be able to anticipate most procedures that would put them at risk of exposure and wear additional personal protective equipment as recommended. In some places in Africa, the same may not be true and workers may not have the ability to prepare for potential exposures.
This guidance is interim guidance and could be updated or changed as new information becomes available.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued today revised Interim U.S. Guidance for Monitoring and Movement of Persons with Ebola Virus Exposure. This guidance (hyperlink to the guidance here) provides new information public health authorities and other partners can use to determine appropriate public health actions based on Ebola exposure risk factors and clinical presentation. It also includes criteria for monitoring exposed people and for when movement restrictions may be needed.
In determining the right approach, we have put the health and safety of Americans first and foremost, and our deliberations have been informed by our most knowledgeable and experienced public health and homeland security professionals. As with everything we have done to respond to the threat of Ebola both at home and abroad, we have been guided by the best science available.
Coordinated public health actions are essential to stop and reverse the spread of Ebola virus. CDC announced last week that public health authorities will begin active post-arrival monitoring of travelers whose travel originates in Liberia, Sierra Leone, or Guinea and arrive at one of the five airports in the United States doing enhanced screening. The revised interim guidance released today is intended to guide state and local health officials with decisions about managing the movement of individuals being monitored, including travelers from the countries with widespread transmission and others who may have been exposed in the United States.
Active post-arrival monitoring means that travelers without febrile illness or symptoms consistent with Ebola will be contacted daily by state and local health departments for 21 days from the date of their departure from Liberia, Sierra Leone, or Guinea. Six states (New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, and Georgia), where approximately 70% of incoming travelers are headed, will start active monitoring today, with the remainder of the states starting in the days following.
This guidance also outlines appropriate public health actions for those individuals classified as “some risk.” These include health care workers who are providing direct care to Ebola patients in West Africa or others, such as observers, who enter an Ebola treatment area where Ebola patients are being cared for. Additional precautions, such as direct active monitoring, are recommended for those classified as “some risk.” In addition, the guidance recommends public health authorities determine on an individualized case-by-case basis whether additional restrictions, such as controlled movement, workplace exclusions, or restrictions on other activities, are appropriate. This daily health consultation will give additional confidence to the community that a returning health care worker is asymptomatic and therefore not contagious.
Returning health care workers should be treated with dignity and respect. They, along with our civilian and military personnel in the region, are working tirelessly on the frontlines against Ebola, and their success is what ultimately will enable us to eliminate the threat of additional domestic Ebola cases. We must not prevent or unduly discourage them from undertaking this indispensable and selfless work.
Guidance for returning health care workers from West Africa should be distinguished from health care workers providing care for Ebola patients in the United States. There are important differences between providing care or performing public health tasks in Africa versus in a U.S. hospital. A U.S. hospital provides a more controlled setting than a field hospital in West Africa. A U.S. healthcare worker would be able to anticipate most procedures that would put them at risk of exposure and wear additional personal protective equipment as recommended. In some places in Africa, the same may not be true and workers may not have the ability to prepare for potential exposures.
This guidance is interim guidance and could be updated or changed as new information becomes available.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Frustration building over lack of details on N.J. Ebola plan
Today's post is shared from northjersey.com/
[Click here to see the rest of this post]
| Governor Christie is forcefully defending New Jersey’s mandatory quarantine policy for travelers or health workers who have come in contact with Ebola patients in West Africa, saying other states, the military and even a Nobel laureate are on his side, as a fierce national debate has ensued over how to best protect Americans from the disease. Yet four days after he and the governor of New York announced the 21-day quarantine for high-risk travelers, neither Christie nor state health officials have offered details about how this will be accomplished. If people are quarantined at home, can their families stay with them and still go out? If they are alone at home, is someone going to bring them food? What about high-risk travelers who are passing through the airport in Newark — should they be allowed to continue to their destination? Those and many other questions remain unanswered — Christie officials said specifics about how the mandate will be enforced are “internal documents” and are not public. What’s more, some of the agencies that are supposed to be enforcing the plan say they are uncertain about protocols because no policies have been presented. There is growing frustration, officials said. The Port Authority, for... |
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
US officials expected to announce Ebola screening at airports
| Employees at airports have a new problem to be worried about: Ebola. Today's post is shared from cidrap.umn.edu/ Federal officials are finalizing details on Ebola screening steps for travelers arriving at US airports, which may be announced in a few days and may resemble the kinds of questions that outbreak countries are asking departing passengers, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, said today.  The risk of another travel-linked Ebola case, such as the one in Texas, can never be reduced to zero until West Africa's outbreak is extinguished, he said at a media telebriefing today. But he said the CDC and other government agencies are taking a hard look at additional steps, focusing on ones that won't hamstring the response process underway overseas.The three main outbreak countries have so far screened about 36,000 people departing on airlines, with three fourths of them bound for destinations outside the United States. The CDC has trained airport screeners in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, which have flagged 77 people with fever and 3 people with other symptoms. As far as the CDC knows, none of the people with fever had Ebola, and most had malaria, a common illness in that part the world, Frieden said. "I can assure you we will take additional steps, and the details will be worked out and announced in a few days," he added. Senator suggests screening stepsUS Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., issued a statement today saying he spoke with Frieden about tougher screening at US airports and is pleased that the CDC is preparing to... |
Monday, October 6, 2014
As U.S. Ebola Fears Widen, Reports of Possible Cases Grow
 Infections are a major issue in workers' compensation claims. As health workers continue to become exposed to Ebola virus the question remain what action the Federal government will take to ease the burden upon the nation's insurance industry. Today's post is shared from the njytimes.com/ DALLAS — In Washington, a patient who had traveled to Nigeria and who was suspected of having Ebola was placed in isolation at Howard University Hospital on Thursday. In New Haven, two Yale University graduate students plan to sequester themselves when they return this weekend from Liberia, where they have helped the government develop a system to track the Ebola epidemic. And at Newark Liberty International Airport on Saturday, a sick man who had just arrived from Brussels was rushed to a hospital amid concerns that he was showing Ebola-like symptoms, a fear later dismissed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With fears about Ebola widening across the United States, federal health officials said Saturday that they were receiving an escalating number of reports of possible Ebola infection, particularly after a Liberian man tested positive for the deadly disease in Dallas last week, the first Ebola case diagnosed in this country. Since the disease began spreading rapidly across West Africa this summer, the C.D.C. said, it has assessed more than 100 possible cases, but only the Dallas case has been confirmed. But increased attention about the virus has jangled nerves around the country, particularly among West African immigrant communities and recent travelers to that region, and placed health care workers on a kind of high alert. “We expect that we will see more rumors, or concerns, or possibilities of cases,” Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of... |
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Violence in the Workplace: Chicago Air Traffic Control
Today's post is shared from nytimes.com
Travelers lined up Friday to reschedule flights at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport after the region's air traffic control was sabotaged. More flights are resuming Saturday, but hundreds were also canceled.
The number of canceled flights in and out of Chicago crept toward 800 Saturday afternoon, as workers tried to restore one of the nation's busiest air traffic control systems. The system was crippled Friday, officials say, after a disgruntled employee set a fire in a federal radar center. (We updated the number of cancellations at 5 p.m. ET).
As we reported Friday, nearly 2,000 flights were canceled or delayed at Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports, throwing travelers' plans into chaos and disrupting flights that use the area as a hub. Today, flight-tracking websites show a few steady streams of air traffic in and out of Chicago — but the volume doesn't approach the area's normal swarm of activity.
Officials say the disruption was caused by a fire that forced the evacuation of a nearby federal air traffic control center and the declaration of a rare "ATC Zero" status — "shorthand for the inability to safely provide air traffic control," reports Air Transport World.
New details emerged late Friday about the suspect in the case, Brian Howard, 36, after the FBI filed a preliminary criminal complaint in federal court. It accuses Howard of sending a note to a relative Friday morning in which he bid them farewell and said he was taking down...
[Click here to see the rest of this post]
Travelers lined up Friday to reschedule flights at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport after the region's air traffic control was sabotaged. More flights are resuming Saturday, but hundreds were also canceled.
The number of canceled flights in and out of Chicago crept toward 800 Saturday afternoon, as workers tried to restore one of the nation's busiest air traffic control systems. The system was crippled Friday, officials say, after a disgruntled employee set a fire in a federal radar center. (We updated the number of cancellations at 5 p.m. ET).
As we reported Friday, nearly 2,000 flights were canceled or delayed at Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports, throwing travelers' plans into chaos and disrupting flights that use the area as a hub. Today, flight-tracking websites show a few steady streams of air traffic in and out of Chicago — but the volume doesn't approach the area's normal swarm of activity.
Officials say the disruption was caused by a fire that forced the evacuation of a nearby federal air traffic control center and the declaration of a rare "ATC Zero" status — "shorthand for the inability to safely provide air traffic control," reports Air Transport World.
New details emerged late Friday about the suspect in the case, Brian Howard, 36, after the FBI filed a preliminary criminal complaint in federal court. It accuses Howard of sending a note to a relative Friday morning in which he bid them farewell and said he was taking down...
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