"This bill puts health and safety first, protecting doctors, nurses and their patients alike," Roukema said.

"Doctors and nurses are accidentally stuck with needles used on patients nearly a million times a year," Roukema said. "Many of these accidents are instant tragedies, infecting dedicated medical workers with blood-borne disease, sometimes even the incurable AIDS virus. And all of these needle-sticks leave the victim frightened of the consequences until a blood test can be done and determine if they have become infected. In turn, there is the risk that these infections could be passed on to patients during treatment."

"Medical professionals who treat patients with HIV or Hepatitis are risking their own lives while treating patients," Roukema said. "The least we can do is see to it that they have the latest in safety precautions available to them. We cannot prevent all hospital and doctor's office accidents, but we should prevent those that we can. Today's safety needles are lifesavers for those trying to save lives."

"I would like to commend forward-thinking companies such as Becton-Dickinson of Bergen County, New Jersey, for their contribution to the development of this safe technology," Roukema said.

H.R. 5178, the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act, would amend OSHA regulations to require that hospitals, doctors' offices and other health-care facilities to use so-called "safer medical devices" where possible. Safer medical devices are needles, blades and other "sharps" that have built-in safety devices to minimize the chance of being stuck. A detailed log of sharps injuries would also be required.

The bill, which passed on a voice vote this afternoon, is similar to legislation Roukema introduced last year. Roukema's bill was broader, covering all health care workers, while today's bill is limited to public employees covered by OSHA.

Nationally, more than 800,000 injuries from potentially contaminated sharps occur each year. The Centers for Disease Control says 76 percent of the injuries could be eliminated immediately if health care institutions switched to safe needles and similar devices. The industry spends an estimated $1 billion a year to treat workers who have been accidentally stuck.