Needlestick Blog
- OSHA must add new language to the BPS that reflects the latest "safety products produced anywhere in the world." NeedlestickSafety.org Report to OSHA on the State of New Safety Technologies, August 2010
- The cause of the accident is not necessarily negligent behavior or lack of care, but ever increasing stress and consequent lack of concentration .... There are enough opportunities to insure adequate protection in such situations.
- Dr. Martin Theives Darmstadt
Greiner Bio-One Safety Brochure - In addition to their physical and emotional consequences, accidental needlestick injuries pack an enormous economic punch...a single case of infection leads to more than $1 million from testing, follow-up, lost time, and disability payments.
- Phyllis Shelton, RN,BSN, CCRN
Kelli Rosenthal, RN,BC,ANP,APRN,BC,CRNI - Most people don't have a clue of the complexities involved for the person drawing blood. Safety needles, when used properly ... in conjunction with safe behaviors ... needlesticks [can] be reduced to their lowest possible level.
- Dennis Ernst, CEO, Executive Director, Center for Phlebotomy Education, Co-founder of Coalition for Phlebotomy Personnel Standards - A stick has always been viewed as a rite of passage, a battle scar, a point of pride -- as in. I've been stuck six times and never been infected.
- Patricia Wetzel, Texas doctor contracted the AIDS virus from a needle stick - Had AIDS not happened onto the scene, little or nothing would have been made of the ... ongoing risks ... to the health care workers.
- Dr. Edward Duffie, Testimony in a needlestick lawsuit against Becton Dickinson - Medical Director at Becton Dickinson - Here [San Francisco General] was the premier AIDS center in the world, and there was such resistance -- they just kept downplaying the risk to health care workers [to draw blood without needles fit with safety functionality. ]
- John Mehring, Health and Safety Officer, Service Employee International Union - Explain the procedure to patients to gain their cooperation and avoid potential movement during the procedure
- Premier Inc.'s Needlestick Safety Prevention brochure - Passive protection can eliminate exposure risk throughout the continuum of use -- before, during, and after use of a sharp.
- Amber Hogan Mitchell, MPH - This landmark legislation without a doubt will save many lives and improve the quality of health care. It also sets a world standard and challenges other countries to provide an equal level of protection to their health care workers. It is the hightest form of recognition of our responsibility to care for those who care for us.
- Janine Jagger, Director of the International Health Care Worker Safety Center, Nov. 6, 2000 on the passage of the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act - Technological movement [of a passive safety device] will involve the simple engineering of a smart device that activates itself during the course of normal clinical use and provides protection, ensuring worker and patient safety throughout.
- Amber Hogan Mitchell, MPH - OSHA recommends that safety devices should be easy-to-use, practical [vein entry indication], work effectively without adversely affecting patient care [passive safety], and feature a safety aspect that is an integral part of the device which cannot be deactivated and remains protective through disposal [after-the-draw safety mechanism].
- Infection Control Today
GENE O’CONNELL – RN, MS
Past Chair of National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems, Past CEO of San Francisco General Hospital.
July 14, 2010
Mr. Jordan Barab
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor
Occupational Safety and Health
U.S. Department of Labor
200 Constitution Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20210
RE: Bloodborne Pathogen Standard Review, July 2010
Dear Secretary Barab:
I am the former chair of the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems, and was the CEO of San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center for over a decade before retiring in March of last year. San Francisco General is one of the nation’s top tertiary academic medical centers and safety net institutions, and has received numerous national awards including the 2008 American Medical Association Ethical Force Programs Awards for its patient centered communications initiative as well as recognition for many advances in emergency care and HIV treatment and research.
It is in everyone’s best interest that the United States has the most up-to-date and innovative technology that fully supports patient and health care workers’ safety. Read more
CATHIE GOSNELL – RN, MS, MBA
Safety Expert, Premier, Inc.
Needlestick injuries can occur at any time during the use or disposal of a needle or sharp device. While many injuries occur after device use and during disposal, up to 40 percent of injuries occur during use. During use injuries can be some of the most difficult to prevent. Most needlestick safety devices are designed to protect the sharp either before or after use; however a needle while in use is necessarily unprotected.
Needlestick safety devices or engineering controls; therefore, offer little protection against injuries that occur during a procedure. Work practice controls have been the primary method to reduce during procedure needlestick injuries. Such methods include: Read more
AMBER HOGAN MITCHELL – MPH, DrPH
Senior industrial hygienist at the U.S. Department of Labor OSHA specializing in national regulatory enforcement issues. OSHA National Bloodborne Pathogens Coordinator.
Copyright 2009 by Virgo Publishing.
http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/
Occupational exposure to sharps contaminated with bloodborne pathogens continues to be an occupational health and safety concern among workers providing patient care. Sharps injuries have been substantially reduced in acute-care settings through increased awareness, thorough training, and technological advancement of safety engineered needles on syringes, blood collection devices, IV insertion sets and lancets. Within these families of devices, there have been multiple generations of safety designs that require the user to actively slide a sheath, flip a clip, advance a plunger, or add an extra aggressive push. Today, there are very few safety-engineered medical devices that require no active step to make a device safer during use, after use and prior to disposal. This brief report is an analysis of current national guidance for passivity in safety engineered medical devices. Read more
GENE O’CONNELL – RN, MS
An open letter from the Past Chair of National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems, Past CEO of San Francisco General Hospital.
Congressman Frank Pallone
Healthcare Sub-Committee Chair
2125 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C., 20515
Dear Congressman Pallone,
I commend Senator Waxman’s Sub-committee hearings on Medical Devices on June 18, 2009 as a critical component of healthcare reform to bring before Congress issues of regulatory oversight to ensure safe, cost effective medical devices that provide better healthcare.
Nowhere in the transcript of testimonies by the four prominent witnesses on June 18, 2009 was there mention of the historic U.S. Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act 2000. Internationally, this uniquely American legislation is the foundation for parliamentary discussions of healthcare reform around the world. The Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act is held as the highest standard of humanistic and wisdom-filled governance to ensure patient and healthcare safety. Read more
Click for more information (PDF)
BD Vacutainer® Flashback Needle
Greiner Vacuette® Visio Plus
Greiner Safety Brochure
B. Braun Introcan Safety® IV Catheter
STA-MED MED-LOK™ Needle
Epiphany Safe Shot
Vein Viewing System