Source: Workplace INTEGRA Associate
The Board of Directors for Workplace INTEGRA, Inc. of Greensboro, NC appointed David J. Pinchot as President on July 7, 2010. Mr. Pinchot has served as Vice President of Workplace INTEGRA, Inc. since the company was founded in 2000.
Mr. Pinchot has been developing Database Management System solutions for business and manufacturing for over 25 years. As an early advocate of PC based data collection and analysis systems, his experience parallels the birth of the personal computer in manufacturing environments up to today’s complicated WAN/LAN, Intranet/Internet environments.
Mr. Pinchot worked as an Engineer-Systems Designer for both Duracell USA and Rayovac. In that capacity, he was involved in creating plant wide database systems encompassing all areas of manufacturing from incoming raw materials to finished product quality. He has also been heavily involved in statistical applications relating to product reliability and quality.
In 1997, Mr. Pinchot brought his talents to U.S. HealthWorks where he served as Manager of Information Services. In that capacity he oversaw the development and support of their Occupational Health & Safety software application.
Applying his many years of programming experience, Mr. Pinchot has developed the Workplace Applications Software suite, which includes modules for Hearing Conservation, Pulmonary Function Surveillance, Safety, FMLA, and Health & Safety.
One of Mr. Pinchot’s first moves was to bring aboard Dr. George R. Cook as Director of Audiology. Dr. Cook has over 30 years of experience in the occupational health setting. As a founder, major principal and vice president of hearing conservation for Oto-Data, Inc. and vice president of U.S. HealthWorks, he created initial service format and facilitated departmental growth to major players in the service market. He also served as Senior Occupational Audiologist consultant visiting plants to establish or evaluate hearing conservation programs. Dr. Cook is also a certified CAOHC course instructor.
Mr. Pinchot and Dr. Cook have worked together for a number of years and they are both excited about working together again. These management moves maintain Workplace INTEGRA’s position as a premier hearing conservation and health data management company who has clients from coast to coast, including Hawaii and American Samoa.
About Workplace INTEGRA, Inc: Workplace INTEGRA is a health & safety, data management company that offers consulting services and an in-house programmed and supported software product called Workplace Applications. Workplace Applications Software is available to companies to help with tracking critical health & safety data. This data can include hearing and pulmonary tests which can be brought over automatically from an audiometer or spirometer. Detailing any injury, illness, or health visit that a company needs to track, such as a fall or slip, is an easy task to complete with Workplace Applications Software. The "Nurses Notes" area is very popular with users, allowing a place to detail incidents. OSHA Logs and numerous reports round out the feature rich software. Workplace INTEGRA offers consulting services with its staff of occupational audiologists and also teaches a number of CAOHC Courses.
Call 888 WPI 0001 with questions or visit: Workplace INTEGRA.
Source: FDA US Food and Drug Administration
Our audiologists are often asked about the merits of ear candling...a practice we universally discourage as potentially unsafe and of no practical benefit for hearing healthcare.
A lit "candle" that can drip hot wax into your ear, usually as you lie on your side.
Sound dangerous? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) thinks so, and is warning consumers to steer clear of products being sold as ear candles.
These "candles"-hollow cones that are about 10 inches long and made from a fabric tube soaked in beeswax, paraffin, or a mixture of the two-are being marketed as treatments for a variety of conditions. These conditions include ear wax buildup, sinus infections, hearing loss, headaches, colds, flu, and sore throats.
Marketers of ear candles claim that warmth created by the lit device produces suction that draws wax and other impurities out of the ear canal.
"Some ear candles are offered as products that purify the blood, strengthen the brain, or even 'cure' cancer," says Eric Mann, M.D., Ph.D., clinical deputy director of FDA's Division of Ophthalmic, Neurological, and Ear, Nose, and Throat Devices.
He adds that some firms claim the candles are appropriate for use on children.
But FDA warns that ear candles can cause serious injuries, even when used in accordance to manufacturers' directions. "Also," says Mann, "FDA believes that there is no valid scientific evidence for any medical benefit from their use."
Burns and Other Risks
Mann says that ear candling-the procedure is also called "ear coning" and "thermal auricular therapy"-exposes the recipient to risks such as
- starting a fire
- burns to the face, ear canal, eardrum, and middle ear
- injury to the ear from dripping wax
- ears plugged by candle wax
- bleeding
- puncture of the eardrum
- delay in seeking needed medical care for underlying conditions such as sinus and ear infections, hearing loss, cancer, and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders. (TMJ disorders often cause headache and painful sensations in the area of the ear, jaw, and face).
Even many promoters of ear candles warn potential users to have the procedure done by an experienced "candler," and to not use the candles on themselves.
Ear candling involves placing the candle in the outer ear, usually while the recipient lies on his or her side. It is also done with the recipient sitting upright.
Often, before being lit, the candle is placed through a hole located in the center of a plate. The plate is supposed to protect against hot wax or ash coming down the side of the device and onto the recipient.
FDA and the Canadian health regulatory agency Health Canada have acted against manufacturers of ear candles. These actions have included import alerts, seizures, injunctions, and warning letters. FDA import alerts identify products that are suspected of violating the law so that agency field personnel and U.S. Customs and Border Protection staff can stop these entries at the border prior to distribution in the United States.
In February 2010, FDA issued warning letters to three large manufacturers of ear candles. These firms were informed that FDA had determined that there was no agency approval or clearance, no manufacturing facility registration or device listing, and no adverse-event reporting systems in place in regard to their ear candles.
FDA will continue to take enforcement action when appropriate.
The rest of the artice and some other links:
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm200277.htm