Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) and Rep. Marge Roukema (R-NJ) today introduced the "Health Care Worker Needlestick Prevention Act of 1999, " a bill to reduce the risk of bloodborne diseases from accidental needlestick injuries sustained by thousands of health care workers every year.
More than 800,000 needlesticks from sharp products are reported each year. Yet even that large number is considered to be underreported. Through December of 1998, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has documented 54 cases of occupational HIV transmission to U.S. health care workers.
Health care workers shouldn't have to risk their lives while saving the lives of their patients," said Rep. Stark. "The technology exists today to prevent the vast majority of these injuries. Safe needle devices are used in some facilities across the country, but our bill would make use of safe technology the norm rather than the exception."
Last year, California became the first state to pass a law to protect health care workers from accidental needlesticks. The "Health Care Worker Needlestick Prevention Act" is modeled after that law. It amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) to require that employers utilize needleless systems or other engineered safety mechanisms to prevent the spread of bloodborne pathogens. The bill also includes an exception process, since these products may not be appropriate for all medical care settings.
In other provisions, the legislation enhances current needlestick reporting requirements and establishes a national clearinghouse to collect data on safe technologies and which will serve as a resource for employers by designing a training curriculum for selection and use of these devices.
"Safe needle technology should be the law of the land," Rep. Stark said. "One life lost to infection from a needlestick injury is one too many. With the bipartisan support of my colleagues, we can take this important step to improve safety for our nation's health care workers."
The "Health Care Worker Needlestick Prevention Act" is endorsed by numerous organizations including: the American Nurses Association, Kaiser Permanente, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the Service Employees International Union, the American Federation of Teachers, and Becton Dickinson, a major medical device manufacturer.
For a summary of the bill, please call (202) 225-5065.