Recent Articles

• 6 things to consider before rehiring an employee

  Roberta Matuson Business Management, Services & Risk Management

  Lots of companies are changing their tune when it comes to hiring former employees. In the past, this was verboten. However, today, this is a strategy well worth considering. Staffing decisions like these are rarely black and white. However, you can avoid having to address questions like these when you have a solid plan in place for succession and employee development. Before you jump on the bandwagon and hire an employee who wants to return, consider the following six things.

• Eliminate hidden germ hazards at your hospital

  Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare Administration

  Every hospital administrator knows that a clean, safe environment for patients is a top priority. There are great, new innovations in terms of bacteria control that many hospitals are implementing — a study from Duke University Health reports that the use of ultraviolet (UVC) light machines are on the rise, for instance. Yet, research also shows that, surprisingly, many areas in the hospital are overlooked when it comes to harboring hidden germs — and often aren't disinfected thoroughly as a result. Focus your cleaning protocol more thoroughly in the following places.

• 5 ways inclusive leaders show support for all employees

  Simma Lieberman Business Management, Services & Risk Management

  Whenever a CEO or someone in a leadership position makes a public statement in support of diversity, equity and inclusion, people who agree get excited. They point that person out as a true ally, and quote them all over social media. It’s always affirming, inspiring and uplifting for employees and consumers who feel the same way. But ultimately, the test and the business results are in the actions. A real inclusive leader knows how to support employees that may be different than the majority.

• Tapering off opioids after surgery: The Transitional Pain Program

  Dorothy L. Tengler Pharmaceutical

  Preoperative opioid use is reported in 23.1 percent of patients undergoing surgery. However, there is an increased incidence of patients who receive prescription opioids after surgery compared with nonsurgical patients. In fact, a study of health insurance claims showed that patients undergoing two of the most common types of surgery were at an increased risk of becoming chronic users of opioid painkillers. Although prescriptions for opioids are most often related to surgical care, recent data suggest that 6 percent of patients undergoing either major or minor elective surgical procedures develop long-term opioid dependence.

• Homebuying softens as market idles

  Michael J. Berens Construction & Building Materials

  Purchases of existing single-family homes remained flat in August as the gap between consumer demand and affordable inventory widened. New home sales rose for the first time since May, but figures for June and July were revised downward. With many would-be buyers unable or unwilling to purchase a home at current rates, pressure has been building to lower costs. And housing prices, while not yet receding, have begun to rise more slowly in some parts of the country, perhaps an indication that the market is hitting its peak.

• Do smaller classes reduce performance gaps?

  Bambi Majumdar Education

  New research from the University of Minnesota's College of Biological Sciences (CBS) produced some interesting insights for class sizes. The new study points to the impact of class sizes on students' performance. Researchers found that smaller classes can help reduce performance gaps, especially in science or STEM. Data collected from four institutions, which included exam grades and non-exam assessments, show that class sizes not only affect performance, but also have an influence on student attrition.

• Carolinas’ historic flooding from Florence makes strong case for…

  Michelle R. Matisons Waste Management & Environmental

  Less than two weeks ago, Hurricane Florence came ashore, impacting the Carolinas and Virginia. Just when you thought the rain had ceased, the region is expecting more. This amount of rainfall is historic, coming in second among storms, with 17.5 inches of rainfall compared to Hurricane Harvey’s 25.6 inches in a 14,000-square-mile area. That’s 8 trillion gallons of rain for the Carolinas — with more on the way. Georgetown, South Carolina, for example, has been evacuated as the area is expected to flood due to multiple rivers converging.

• Workplace violence is a challenging HR compliance issue

  Terri Williams Business Management, Services & Risk Management

  It’s not a topic that anyone wants to think about, but companies should be preparing workplace violence prevention and response plans. According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), workplace violence can include verbal abuse and threats, physical assaults, and homicide. Employees, customers and clients, and visitors can be the perpetrators or victims of workplace violence. While over 2 million American workers a year report being a victim of workplace violence, OSHA notes that millions of other incidents are never reported.

• Drugs and music: New study shows increased mentions of marijuana in chart-topping…

  Dr. Denise A. Valenti Pharmaceutical

  Legal acceptance of adult use marijuana is moving from state to state, with nine states now having laws allowing for the recreational use of marijuana for adults. Along with this are indisputable cultural changes, and a recent study has shown this is reflected in popular music. The study, published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, looked at the Billboard Top 40 charts from 1986 and 2016 and screened for mentions of drugs or alcohol.

• Mosquitoes are eating people and plastic, bringing materials up the food…

  Scott E. Rupp Waste Management & Environmental

  As humans, we often think of mosquitos as blood-sucking parasites that do nothing but buffet lunch on us, cause us pain and irritant to our skins, and leave us itching and sometimes bloody when we squash them between our hands. But, the little flying blood buzzards are more than that, including plastic-ingesting insects that are polluting their own bodies while they gnaw on the man-made material and bring it up the food chain. Authors of a paper — published in The Royal Society journal Biology Letters — found that when a mosquito larva eats microplastic, that plastic can remain in the insect's body into adulthood. So, the microplastic can then be transferred to whatever might eat that mosquito, including birds.

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