Solutions for Safer Healthcare
Patients, Visitors, Guests to your Hospital, Urgent Care, Assisted Living or Senior Center
Our Healthcare customers keep patients, staff and facilities safe and secure at all times using our expert solutions. You’re caring for the body, minds and souls when they are vulnerable and need it the most. Seton’s innovative identification products, industry expertise and custom product manufacturing capability for healthcare environments.
Resources for Every Step of the Way
Our solutions are suited for the complexity of the healthcare industry – whether your institution is a hospital or clinic, medical or dental practice activity, diagnostic laboratory, pharmacy, independent living or long-term assisted living center – Seton has innovative identification products to help you protect your organization. Medical gas NFPA color codes.
Hospitals, Clinics & Practices
Many Hospitals, Clinics and Practices have the following areas where hazards found in the hospital setting have to meet both the OSHA General Industry standards as well as Joint Commission requirements. Seton’s Resource Center is pleased to provide convenient access to OSHA’s Hospital eTool https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/hospital/ which highlights the areas needed identification products to communicate hazards and other important information to staff, patients and visitors on your healthcare campus.
Sources: https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/hospital/references.html
Central Supply
All Hospitals have a Central Supply department and area that may contain the following hazards that need to be marked with signs, labels tags. The pipes transporting these chemicals around your hospital need to be marked according to ASTM A13.1 identification requirements. Medical gas NFPA color codes. IIAR Ammonia Refrigeration Guidelines
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OSHA Website Resources (The Globally Harmonized System is the new standard for chemical hazard identification. OSHA seeks to harmonize, on a global level, the classification of chemicals by their corresponding hazards.)
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Ethylene Oxide. National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Workplace Safety and Health Topic.
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Ethylene Oxide. OSHA Safety and Health Topics Page.
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Ergonomics. OSHA Safety and Health Topics Page.
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- Seton Resources aligned to GHS Hazard Communication (29 CFR 1910.1200) and walking-working surface hazards that may cause a slip, a trip or a fall.
Engineering
Hazards Facility Maintenance staff are exposed to in the Engineering department (as listed below) mean guard, labels identifying hazards (i.e. pinch points, Lockout, confined spaces) as well as tags, signs and other identification communication equipment.
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OSHA Website Resources
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Machine Guarding. OSHA Safety and Health Topics Page.
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29 CFR 1910 Subpart O, Machinery and machine guarding.
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1910.212, General requirements for all machines. OSHA Standard.
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Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout). OSHA Safety and Health Topics Page.
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Lockout/Tagout Interactive Training Program. OSHA eTool.
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- Occupational Health Guidelines for Chemical Hazard. US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 81-123, (1981, January). Provides a table of contents of guidelines for many hazardous chemicals. The files provide technical chemical information, including chemical and physical properties, health effects, exposure limits, and recommendations for medical monitoring, personal protective equipment (PPE), and control procedures.
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Seton Resources
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Before Maintenance Confirm De-energizes Equipment If the potential exists for the release of hazardous stored energy or for the re-accumulation of stored energy to a hazardous level, the employer must ensure that the employee(s) take steps to prevent injury that may result from the release of the stored energy.
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Lockout/Tagout (29 CFR 1910.147)
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- Machine Guarding (29 CFR 1910.211-219)
- Hazard Communication (29 CFR 1910.1200)
Housekeeping
Workers conducting housekeeping duties need to have ANSI Signs to reinforce proper personal protective equipment and to keep them informed of the SDS and chemicals in products they use on a daily basis to maintain the healthiest of environments.
- OSHA Website Resources
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- 29 CFR 1910 Subpart Z, Toxic and hazardous substances.
- 1910.1030, Bloodborne pathogens. OSHA Standard.
- 29 CFR 1910 Subpart Z, Toxic and hazardous substances.
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- 1910.1030(d)(4), Housekeeping.
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- 1910.1200, Hazard communication. OSHA Standard.
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- Seton Resources aligned to GHS Hazard Communication (29 CFR 1910.1200)
Surgical
Identifying building systems – pipes containing gases – with proper pipe markers per ASTM A13.1 requirements
- OSHA Website Resources
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- Waste Anesthetic Gases. OSHA Safety and Health Topics Page.
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- Anesthetic Gases: Guidelines for Workplace Exposures. OSHA, (2000, May 18). Provides guidelines and controls to help reduce occupational exposure to waste anesthetic gases.
- Controlling Exposures to Nitrous Oxide During Anesthetic Administration. US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 94-100, (1994). Presents control measures for preventing or greatly reducing exposure to nitrous oxide (N2O) during the administration of anesthetic gas.
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- Seton Resources enhance Building Systems Identification. Seton carries a wide variety of pipe marking products which are fully compliant with current ANSI/ASME standards as well as customizable to meet the specific needs of your systems.
Healthcare Wide Hazards
Proper identification of hazards using ANSI signs, labels and tags containing key messages as well as infographic help workers whose native language is not English understand the hazards, take appropriate action, and ultimately reduce injuries due to miscommunication.
- OSHA Website Resources:
- Ergonomics
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Ergonomics. OSHA Safety and Health Topics Page. (Eliminating Back Injuries)
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OSHA Technical Manual (OTM). OSHA Directive TED 01-00-015 [TED 1-0.15A], (1999, January 20).
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- Ergonomics
- Bloodborne Pathogens
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- Healthcare-associated Infections (HAIs). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Informs patients and healthcare personnel and provides resources to move healthcare systems toward elimination of HAIs.
- 29 CFR 1910 Subpart Z, Toxic and hazardous substances.
- 1910.1030, Bloodborne pathogens. OSHA Standard.
- Model Plans and Programs for the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens and Hazard Communications Standards (PDF). OSHA Publication 3186-06N, (2003).
- Workplace Violence
- Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Healthcare and Social Service Workers (EPUB | MOBI). OSHA Publication (OSHA-3148), (2015)
- Workplace Violence. OSHA Training and Reference Materials Library.
- Seton Resources: Minimizing Slips, trips, and falls are a leading cause of workplace injuries and a significant contributor to worker-compensation claims. Three of the top then direct injury worker-compensation costs are falls on the same level, falls to a lower level and slip or trip without fall. Additionally, there is growing data from industry safety resources documenting non-employee pedestrian safety injuries from distracted walking.
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- Controlling your grounds, sidewalks and other areas of an organization’s parking lot face a number of safety challenges: speeding drivers, distracted pedestrians, and unaccompanied children, just to name a few. All this makes your signs, pavement markings, and crosswalks critical to keep people and vehicles “in their own lanes”. Seton’s safety professionals understand the MUTCD model for compliance which can help your organization achieve risk control and lessen liability.
- Checklist for a Safe Parking Lot
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Diagnostic Labs and Pharmacies
The following two areas have special labelling and identification requirements because of exposure risks to workers in these departments. Global Harmonized Standard – GHS’s right to know expectations covers workers in these environments.
Laboratory & Pharmacy
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- OSHA Website Resources:
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- Hazard Communication. OSHA Safety and Health Topics Page.
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- How does the HAZCOM apply to pharmaceutical drugs?
- Update on Hazardous Drugs. OSHA, (2016, August 1). A recent systematic review of existing programs and requirements.
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- OSHA Website Resources:
- Seton Resources aligned to GHS Hazard Communication (29 CFR 1910.1200) and improving your Asset Security. Asset security is the application of systems to ensure that every tangible item of value is monitored and maintained.
Long Term Care Centers
A growth area within Healthcare is the LTCC – which has several of the same departments a hospital has and some added hazards associated with treating patients who are among the least mobile population.
Central Supply
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- Ethylene Oxide. National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Workplace Safety and Health Topic.
- Ethylene Oxide. OSHA Safety and Health Topics Page.
- Ergonomics. OSHA Safety and Health Topics Page.
Administration
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- OSHA Website Resources:
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- Revisions to the Voluntary Protection Programs To Provide Safe and Healthful Working Conditions. OSHA Federal Register Notice 65:45649-45663, (2000, July 24).
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- Guidelines for Protecting the Safety and Health of Health Care Workers. US Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 88-119, (1988, September).
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- Carbonless Copy Paper. US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 2001-107, (2000, December). Reviews current scientific information on health effects associated with occupational exposure to carbonless copy paper and recommends ways to reduce or eliminate symptoms.
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- Computer Workstations. OSHA eTool.
- Evaluation Checklist. Helps identify, analyze and control musculoskeletal disorders in computer workstation tasks.
- Computer Workstations. OSHA eTool.
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- Injury and Illness Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements. OSHA Safety and Health Topics Page.
- 29 CFR 1904, Recording and reporting occupational injuries and illness. OSHA Standard.
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- OSHA Website Resources:
- Seton Resources:
- Walking pathways can get crowded during seasonal periods when built up stock inventory is close to square foot capacity. Best practice is to ensure everyone is clear on their “lanes” to move.
Engineering
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- Please refer to OSHA and Seton Resources outlined in acute care for Machine Guarding, Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout).
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- Seton Resources for inbound / Outbound areas of supplies maintenance
- Dealing effectively with inbound and outbound items and have put together a Loading Dock Yard and Parking Area Checklist to help.
- Seton Resources for inbound / Outbound areas of supplies maintenance
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- Seton identification products help with managing, improving and smoothing the process flow, removing wasteful non-value-added steps.
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- If your organization has guidelines for identification and organization, Seton will help you communicate them with intuitive infographics, filtering your policy down to all workers.
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- Please refer to OSHA and Seton Resources outlined in acute care for Machine Guarding, Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout).
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- Some use LIFO (Last in, First out). Some use FILO (First In, Last Out). Some use their own inventory controls. Whatever process your healthcare organization uses, Seton can help with inventory and inspection labels and more.
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- Facilities and Engineering personnel will inevitably be working at heights from a portable ladder. Ensure the ladder is inspected before each use and protect employees with customized tags if necessary.
Laundry
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- OSHA Website Resources:
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- Occupational Heat Exposure. OSHA Safety and Health Topics Page.
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- OSHA Technical Manual (OTM) Chapter ‐ Heat Stress. OSHA Directive TED 01-00-015 [TED 1-0.15A], (2017, September 15). Includes useful sections on heat illness, prevention programs, assessment and screening for heat stress in the workplace.
- 29 CFR 1910 Subpart Z, Toxic and hazardous substances.
- 1910.1030, Bloodborne pathogens. OSHA Standard.
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- OSHA Website Resources:
- Seton Resources can help you place special transportation information and instructions on your packages. We also provide tools for shipments that require special handling, such as our Tip ’N’ Tell Indicator.
Seton Services
Seton’s portfolio of services offers you a fresh set of experienced eyes to help your hazard prevention efforts in three ways: through safety, processing and mechanical services. We provide both fee-based and value-added services to complement our innovative products and solutions. For more information, and download a copy of Seton’s Services.