Tag: safety

Four Facts You Need to Know About Pool Lifts

Photo by Casey Clingan on Unsplash
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It’s summertime, and that means time out by the pool. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that both public and private industries provide “accessible means of entry for pools.” Pool owners fulfill this requirement in two ways: pool lifts and sloped entries. While sloped entries are a part of pool construction, pool lifts are an easy way to gain ADA compliance with existing construction. As you consider adding a pool lift to your deck, here are four things you should know.

Pool Lifts Require Regular Maintenance

Pool lifts are a big investment, and it is important to care for them through regular maintenance. Due to exposure to chlorinated or salt water, the metal parts of a lift corrode or rust over time. In order to maintain safety and usability, the lifts should be regularly inspected, lubricated, and cleaned. Lifts in saltwater and outdoor environments require more frequent maintenance. Additionally, when a lift is not in use, it is wise to store it indoors in a cool, dry area.

The ADA Also Requires Safety Measures

Part of the ADA’s requirements is an education for your staff. When pool lifts are in place, the staff must be trained to operate, care for, and assist visitors with the lift. Also, the lift needs to be ready to use at any time during your hours of operation.

Placement Is Important

It is essential to place the lift in an area that is accessible and safe. A professional installer can help you if necessary. Be sure to allow deck space for a person to get to the lift to enter the water. A wheelchair requires thirty-six inches of clear and level deck space next to the lift seat.

Additional Equipment Can Improve Accessibility

While pool lifts and sloped entries are required for compliance with the ADA, there are further additions you can make to your pool area to make it more accessible. Handrails, seat belts, and ways to limit access (like a keypad or key operated controls) will all improve safety. Also, having a pool access chair on hand for guest use is a great convenience if you have the benefit of a sloped entrance.

Whether you are looking at pool lifts to meet ADA compliance, or you are searching for a way to improve your own private pool, a hydraulic lift will make your pool a place anyone can enjoy. By keeping these simple facts in mind, you will have a code-compliant pool in no time. For the best prices on accessibility equipment and other medical needs, visit our wholesale catalog here.

The Best Protection in the Lab

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Image by DarkoStojanovic - https://pixabay.com/en/users/DarkoStojanovic-638422/
Image by DarkoStojanovic – https://pixabay.com/en/users/DarkoStojanovic-638422/

The best lab protection is tailored to the situation in which it is used. While most lab work requires gloves and other personal protective equipment, or PPE, different hazards demand PPE made of different materials. PPE of different colors, shapes, and designs can also save lives.

Gloves

Of all lab PPE, gloves are among the most closely linked with situational safety. Before donning gloves, the wearer must consider what the gloves will have to resist. Are chemicals involved that corrode materials like latex or nitrile? Do the gloves need to be sterile, or stand up to sharp utensils?

The materials the wearer will handle with the gloves help decide the type of gloves that ought to be used. This is true down to even the basic nuance of color. White gloves are ideal for those who are looking for evidence of blood or who intend to handle dark materials. Black latex gloves and colored gloves are best for those who need a clear view of their hands, regardless of what gets on their gloves. Technicians handling powders and white substances, also benefit from black or colored gloves.

Size and fit also play a critical part in keeping you protected in the lab. No PPE can perform its function if it is not a correct fit. For example, gloves that are too small often rip and expose skin to hazards. If a glove is too large the wearer’s grip is compromised and bacteria have an easier time slipping inside.

Glasses and Goggles

Glasses, goggles, and face shields all play the same role with increasing areas of coverage. Glasses protect the eyes from small, direct bursts of accidental spray. Goggles also protect the eyes, but they offer superior protection to protective glasses thanks to their fit and seal against the face. If you are dealing with any material that is likely to spray, then a face shield is needed for adequate protection. It is always better to be too protected in case of accidents.

When choosing protective eye wear always consider the specific lab work involved. Different labs use different materials designed specifically for that work. For example, lab technicians will need separate glasses for protection when working with lasers and other highly specialized tools.

Masks

A basic procedural mask with ear loops will serve as adequate protection in many cases. However, a cone style mask does a better job protecting the wearer and the subjects in the lab, additionally it typically provides a more comfortable fit. Rather than pucker at the sides like a flat procedural mask, cone style masks fit much better over the nose and mouth, providing superior filtration.

When handling dangerous chemicals in a closed environment, it is unlikely either a procedural mask or a cone mask will be able to thoroughly filter out hazards. In such cases, respirators are better choices.

Lab coats

A good lab coat is flame resistant and made of a material other than polyester. Reinforced seams help prevent tears that could expose the wearer to hazardous material, and it’s important to remember that a good lab coat is a bigger investment than masks and gloves, which are typically disposable. However, like any PPE, lab coats should be tailored for the situation in which they will be used. If used around infectious materials, a lab coat may need to be easily sterilized, which many materials are not. In such cases, you would be wise to find disposable lab coats that meet the same requirements.

Always look for quality when choosing your PPE. Even if a cheaper product allows you to save a little money in the short term, it can cost you heavily in medical expenses. Make sure your PPE is tailored to the specific task you plan to handle. After all, the very best surgically sterile gloves will do nothing to protect you against heated elements in the lab.

Wearing Protective Gloves Can Save Lives

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Image by DarkoStojanovic - https://pixabay.com/en/users/DarkoStojanovic-638422/
Image by DarkoStojanovic – https://pixabay.com/en/users/DarkoStojanovic-638422/

Disposable protective gloves are part of the daily routine in any medical facility that follows federal guidelines, and for good reason. Disposable protective gloves are crucial to fighting the spread of infection. The most important reason they are vital is that they protect the lives of healthcare workers and patients alike.

Disposable Protective Gloves Help Stop the Spread of Infection

Although gloves will not protect against airborne pathogens, person to person contact is still one of the most common methods of infection. Even patients who show no outward signs of infection can be carriers, and any broken skin is an invitation for infection. Protective gloves function as a disposable second skin, allowing physicians to treat each new patient with a clean pair of hands. It’s important to note that the use of disposable gloves does not replace other aspects of hand sanitation, but only maximizes cleanliness. Gloves dramatically decrease the risk of accidentally infecting one patient with another patient’s illness.

Personal Protective Equipment

OSHA’s guidelines for personal protective equipment, legally require employers to provide chemical and liquid resistant gloves for the protection of all employees. In a medical setting, disposable gloves are key in the protection and health of all healthcare staff. Even employees who never have physical contact with patients come into contact with hazardous materials on a regular basis. Bodily fluids represent the highest threat to employees. Blood can infect others with life threatening diseases like HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. Trace amounts of blood can enter nearly any other bodily fluid, and other pathogens can easily infect new hosts through saliva or mucus.

Chemicals in the workplace can also pose a serious threat to workers. Wearing protective gloves does more than protect your hands. Changing your gloves between the handling of different chemicals can prevent the creation of potentially toxic mixtures. There are plenty of reasons why protective gloves are a mandatory guideline in the vast majority of the medical field.

Even the color of gloves can save a life. While white gloves are optimal for those handling dark substances that must be clearly seen, black latex or nitrile gloves have just as many, if not more, uses. Black or colored gloves allow paramedics and EMTs to examine trauma patients without showing bright red blood stains on their gloves. This helps keep the patient calmer, which keeps everyone safer. These gloves are also ideal for handling powders in a laboratory setting.

Protecting the Patient

Healthcare workers are not exempt from passing along infectious diseases. Without protective gloves it would be all too easy to infect a patient with a disease a doctor is personally carrying. Patients need to be guarded against all possible sources of contamination, including their physicians. The mouth, mucus membranes, and even the smallest of open wounds can allow infection into the body. Gloves keep healthy patients healthy and minimize the risk of infection.

The Unexpected

Although most other forms of personal protective equipment, including disposable gowns and shoe covers, are only used for specific situations; protective gloves are mandatory for essentially, any patient interaction. The reason is simple: they protect against the unexpected. Checking a patient’s back for raised moles without gloves could bring a physician into contact with an open sore. Perhaps a patient has been wiping his nose on his sleeve and his nurse adjusts that sleeve to check his blood pressure. Gloves can prevent any number of incidents that may go unnoticed.

Hospitals and medical facilities would be ideal territory for infectious diseases if healthcare workers did not practice such conscientious, preventive measures. Wearing disposable protective gloves is one of the simplest but most effective of these practices.