FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE September 19, 2000 |
Contact: Becky Campoverde or Dan Lara (202) 225-4527 |
Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act
WASHINGTON – The
Workforce Protections Subcommittee passed bipartisan legislation today to
help protect healthcare workers from injury by needlesticks. The bill, the Needlestick Safety
and Prevention Act (H.R. 5178), amends the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration’s (OSHA) 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. The bill,
sponsored by subcommittee chairman Cass Ballenger (R-NC) and ranking
member Major Owens (D-NY), passed by voice vote.
“The subcommittee has taken action today to protect health care workers
from the more than 600,000 needlestick injuries that occur
annually. The results of
those injuries can be tragic for those involved,” Ballenger said. “Safer medical devices decrease
the risk of exposure and improve worker safety. This bill ensures 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.” ### |