OSHA Training
Some of you may have met our friend Dr. Harold Edelman when he was in our office for a visit. Dr. Kaufman invited Dr. Edelman to come in to our office and meet with him and his team. Dr. Edelman reviewed our sterilization and safety procedures. Dr. Edelman was impressed with all of our systems and eager to use our office as an example for other offices to follow. We have continued to exceed CDC standards with our sterilization protocol. Dr. Kaufman hires Dr. Edelman to come into the office every few years to insure that he is providing the safest and best working environment possible for his staff and to ensure that we are trained to give the best care to our patients.
Dr. Edelman is a graduate of NYU Dental School. He has been an active clinician for 32 years and a consultant in infection control for 12 years. Dr. Edelman has provided infection control services/programs for over 800 dental offices and has been involved in over 60 OSHA inspections of dental offices. He is certified by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to teach “Voluntary Compliance in the Private Sector” and instruction in biohazards. Dr. Edelman is an active consultant member of the Organization for Safety and Aseptic Procedure (OSAP), the national dental infection control organization. In addition to his consulting business and clinical practice, Dr. Edelman lectures extensively on the topic of OSHA compliance and infection control at national, regional and local dental meetings, and for dental organizations.
While Dr. Edelman was here we reviewed the seemingly simple task of hand washing. With cold and flu season in full swing we want to do everything we can do to cut down the transmission of germs. Make sure that you wash your hands very well, don’t forget to wash in between your fingers, your nails and around your wrists. Dr. Edelman demonstrated a product called GloGerm that showed the germs that stayed on your hands even after you have washed them with soap and water. YUK! Check out www.glogerm.com for more information. It was a great learning experience for everyone. The new instant hand sanitizers are proving to be much more effective at killing germs than traditional soap and water. Products such as Purell and other antiseptic cleaners that are at least 62% ethyl alcohol need to become a regular part of our daily routine and it will greatly reduce the amount of germs that are transmitted by hand to hand contact. You will notice that we have added Instant hand sanitizers around the office for everyone’s use.
Some other tips for keeping germs at bay include carrying trial sizes of a hand sanitizer with you to use while you are out. Especially when you are in braces and find yourself having to change your rubber bands. Pick up antiseptic wipes to use on shopping cart handles and in public restrooms. If you share a phone or a keyboard with someone make sure you wipe it down before you use it, you never know what viruses may be waiting there for you.
