People who work in hospitals, clinics and doctor’s offices face hazards each day they go into the work. The risk of catching a communicable disease or illness is pretty high. This is one of the reasons why many health care facilities require nurses and other workers to have vaccinations during the course of their employment.
Unfortunately, vaccines aren’t a foolproof method for preventing some of these illnesses. The flu shot, for example, isn’t effective against every strain that might impact people in a year. This means that nurses and other professionals need to take steps on their own to reduce the risk of transmission.
One of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of illnesses from one person to another is washing your hands. People who come into contact with patients should wash their hands thoroughly after dealing with the patient. In the interim, they should avoid touching their own face so that they aren’t spreading the germs around this area.
Wearing masks, gowns and gloves can also help to stop the spread of illnesses. These protections should be provided by the medical facility as part of a normal business operating expense. When these items and similar protections aren’t available, workers might end up getting sick.
When medical professionals comes down with an illness that can be traced to work and that will require them to remain off work for a while, they might opt to pursue workers’ compensation benefits. These can cover their medical care and provide them with a source of income until they can return to work. Making sure you get the benefits you deserve is imperative.
Source: United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Transmission-Based Precautions,” accessed Jan. 19, 2018