Committee on Education and the Workforce

Rep. Ballenger Introduces Bill on Needlestick Safety

WASHINGTON – Workforce Protections Subcommittee Chairman Cass Ballenger (R-NC) and Subcommittee Ranking Member Major Owens (D-NY) introduced a bipartisan bill today to help protect healthcare workers from injury by needlesticks.  The bill, the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act (H.R. 5178), requires the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to amend the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard to include the definition of “safer medical devices” and the requirement that employers must consider and implement the use of such safer medical devices in their facilities.

            “More than 600,000 needlestick injuries occur among healthcare workers annually, and the results can be tragic for those involved,” Ballenger said.  “Safer medical devices decrease the risk of exposure and improve worker safety.  The legislation I am introducing today will ensure that the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard includes language about the identification, evaluation, and use of safer medical devices by employers.”

Since it was issued in 1991, the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard is credited with bringing about significant improvements in reducing the risks of occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens.  Despite the improvements, the number of accidental needlestick injuries to healthcare workers remains high.  During the past 10 years, significant improvements have been made in the types and kinds of needle devices available to employers to help protect against needlestick and other sharps injuries.

“Safer medical devices” commonly refer to needles and other medical instruments that have built-in safety mechanisms that reduce or eliminate exposure to needles or other sharp objects.  The legislation requires employers to maintain a record of sharps injuries, known as a “sharps injury log,” as a means to record the high risk areas in their facilities and to include frontline health care workers in the selection of safer devices.

“At a Workforce Protections Subcommittee hearing in June, we heard from a variety of witnesses about the need to include language about safer medical devices,” Ballenger said.  “There is no doubt this is an important public health issue.  More than eight million healthcare workers in the United States work in hospitals and other healthcare settings.  The goal of this legislation is to help make their jobs safer.” 

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