In this guest column, Dan Scungio, MT(ASCP), SLS, laboratory safety officer for multihospital system Sentara Healthcare in Virginia, and otherwise known as “Dan, the Lab Safety Man,” discusses the important issues that affect your job every day. Today he discussed emergency preparedness.
Hospitals face an ongoing battle against drug diversion, particularly with controlled substance infusions. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these challenges, with many hospitals rapidly expanding ICUs and loosening controls to prioritize patient care. However, as healthcare facilities move...
While safety procedures in the lab do take time to follow, they improve productivity in the long run by reducing employee accidents and injuries. While productivity and safety can clash, it’s also possible for them to unite.
This story looks at some of the common PPE mistakes or misconceptions laboratories should be striving to eliminate in 2025, as well as how to battle PPE complacency.
Personal electronic devices—cell phones, smartwatches, earbuds, etc.—have become ubiquitous in our lives, but their use in laboratory environments poses significant safety risks. For hospital labs, which handle sensitive specimens and play a critical role in patient care, the challenge lies in...
There are many great quotes about leadership, but none specifically about being an excellent laboratory safety officer. The absence in popular media of brave lab officers giving rousing speeches to staff on banding together and wearing their PPE to keep OSHA at bay is an oversight that will need...
When it comes to PPE and the role it plays in lab safety, little more can be said about its importance that the healthcare industry hasn’t already expressed. Lab coats, goggles, gloves, and face shields are all necessary for preventing staff injuries and exposure. The science is clear that...
In this guest column, Dan Scungio, MT(ASCP), SLS, laboratory safety officer for multihospital system Sentara Healthcare in Virginia, and otherwise known as “Dan, the Lab Safety Man,” discusses the important issues that affect your job every day. When you think about laboratory safety, images of...
You can’t use bleach on everything in your laboratory. Cleaning and disinfecting the myriad of surfaces, tools, and equipment in your lab requires a variety of cleaners, soaps, and disinfectants. While one cleaner might be good for killing off acid-fast bacteria, it might damage or corrode your...
Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHF), such as Ebola virus disease and Marburg virus disease, represent an ongoing threat even if their chance of occurrence on U.S. soil may seem low. These highly infectious diseases not only carry a high mortality rate but also present unique challenges for hospital...
