Conference 7.286::digital

    Health Services is the term they use here in Mass. as being the
    nurse that you go to at the site for an aspirin.

	There isn't a Health Services conference that I know of. There
	are some conferences (listed below) that are health and medicine
	related though. I think this is a good topic for this conference
	though.

Biology and Medicine		LDP::BIOLOGY				 1204
Holistic Health & New Age Topics HYDRA::HOLISTIC			  571
Homeopathic Medicine		CACHE::HOMEOPATHY			 2103
Medical Topics			GUMMO::MEDICAL				 1219

			Alfred

    Here in Southern California, 'Health Services' consists of a metal
    box molly bolted to the wall, filled with non-ingestible items such
    as band-aids, a pair of scissors my pre-schooler would be disgusted
    with and hand lotion.  
    
    I guess if we need asprin, we go home.
    
    Jodi-
    
    

    re: .3  the medicine chest ...
    
    At one time, the Austin facility had a first-aid box with the usual
    bandages, tweezers, snake-bite kit, and so forth.  It also had little
    packets of sinus pills, aspirins, and antacids that were replenished
    from time to time.  You got a headache or the sniffles, and you could
    get something to tide you over 'til you got home.
    
    Recently, Facilities passed around a memo that said "no more pills"
    because of legal problems.  Presumably, if you OD'ed on the antacid
    pills somehow, DEC could be sued because of it.  I have to admit it
    sounded kind of phony at first, then I picked up a paper and saw a
    story about a woman suing a mattress company for having bad dreams
    because the mattress was uncomfortable.
    
    So I guess I can buy my own TUMS and still survive.
    
    Geoff

    We've got a "First Aid" closet in KYO.  However, the only things
    of use in there are a cot and wash stand.  I asked for a band-aid
    once, and had to put out an A.P.B. to track one down (never did,
    BTW!).
    
    After visiting BUO, and needing an aspirin, but being required to
    fill out more paperwork than I did when I was drafted, or applied
    for a security clearance, I've taken the low road...I carry what
    I need.  To wit, I'm nicknamed "DOC" around the office (but only
    by my friends...you won't want to know what the enemies call me!).
    
    Mark

    
    
    
    Besides passing out generic aspirin and band aids, Health services 
    is also involved with such mundane programs as safety glasses, (
    monitoring the performance of the optometrist that comes on site)
    industrial safety, ( writing policy or setting guidelines for safe 
    work practices and equipment in manufacturing and field service,
    industrial hygiene,(making certain the general work place is reasonably
    clean, and bio-hazard free no DEC facility yet has been closed because
    of legionnaires disease have they? They also help set up a lot of
    the EAP programs for quit smoking stress relief and a whole bunch
    more. 
    
    Granted, in the field office things may sometimes look a tad grim
    but somewhere out there someone really is trying to either make
    or keep you healthy. and safe.  

    At the Merrimack, So. Nashua, and Stow MA facilities where I've worked,
    the Health Services department was very active in preventive medicine. 
    They sponsor smoking cessation programs and cholesterol testing.  They
    offer stress reduction classes and blood drives, etc.  I know of people
    who have used Health Services as an advocate in having the
    environmental health of their building improved through better
    ventilation and air conditioning.  Also, the number of lives they've
    saved through CPR classes is immeasurable.
    
    Marge

    
    I guess I've been lucky with Health Services, because I've always
    worked in the HQ area (Maynard, Stow, etc.).  Here, the Health Services
    Departments are very comprehensive.  For example, they provide us with
    some of the things already mentioned (blood drives, cholesterol
    testing, etc.), but they also have regular visits by Digital's doctor,
    an allergy shot program (they just give the shot; they don't do the
    initial testing and prescription), and one building I worked in even
    trained and implemented an Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT)
    whereby employees got certified in CPR & First Aid and were called in
    cases of emergency when the nurse was out of the facility.  
    
    I particularly like the MERT team concept for facilities with no nurse,
    or a "visiting" nurse (afterall, people don't tend to time their
    emergencies/accidents around the nurse's schedule!).