The Department of Homeland Security Declares 2015 the Year of Drug Related Overdose

"It’s the highest number of drug-related deaths our country has ever seen. In a single year, we’ve lost nearly as many Americans to drug overdose as we lost in battle in World War I. Almost as many as was lost in 12 years in Vietnam.

The Department of Homeland Security recently unveiled that there was an unprecedented number of drug overdoses and drug related deaths in 2015. In 2015, over 52,000 American deaths were due to drug overdose and the CDC ranks opiates which include heroin and painkillers as the primary cause of the carnage.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary John Kelly:

"It’s the highest number of drug-related deaths our country has ever seen. It’s more deaths than the peak of the AIDS epidemic in 1995. In a single year, we’ve lost nearly as many Americans to drug overdose as we lost in battle in World War I. Almost as many as was lost in 12 years in Vietnam.

"And that’s just overdose deaths. That number—as high as it is—says nothing about the long-term health damage to our citizens who survive, to say nothing about the human misery, the families ripped apart, and the extremes of crime and violence inherent in the illegal-drug enterprise.

With the widespread abuse of oxycontin, heroin and other opiates, employers need to be sure that employees are drug free and work-sites are safe for all.  Learn more about onsite medical services and keeping large scale construction projects safe with safesitemedical.com

Safe Site Medical Takes a Look at Global Work Site Safety in New Zealand

As an American safety company that provides on-site medical services to large-scale construction projects in North America, Safe Site Medical believes it is strategically important to carefully review the global landscape for construction news and workplace safety happenings. Safe Site Medical strives to be knowledgeable and up-to-date on not only U.S. workplace safety and OSHA standards but of our global partners standards as well.   In this post, we look at New Zealand and The Health and Safety at Work Act of 2016.

Safeguard Magazine recently released it's survey findings on what New Zealand workers think of The 2016 Health and Safety at Work Act, one year later.

Here are some of the survey results:

• 78% of respondents believe health and safety is taken seriously, a double-digit increase from the 67% who felt the same way last year.
• 72% of respondents agree that in their workplace, risks are discussed with other businesses which share the same site.
• Only 48% of respondents felt confident that the health of workers is taken seriously (compared to 78% who were confident about safety)
• Only 46% felt that organizations view health & safety as an opportunity to improve rather than just to comply with the law.
• Only 47% of respondents were confident that no one would be harmed or made unwell by the activities carried out at their workplace.

To read more about New Zealand's Health and Safety at Work Act of 2016 and the survey visit Scoop.

Be engaged and learn more about how American construction companies are utilizing onsite medical services to reduce OSHA recordables and keep work sites safe with Safe Site Medical.