STATEMENT OF SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY
ON PREVENTING NEEDLESTICK
INJURIES IN THE WORKPLACES
September 29, 1999
For Immediate Release
Contact: Jim Manley
(202)
224-2633
Mr. President, each year, up to one million nurses and other health
care workers are accidentally stuck by needles or other sharp instruments
contaminated by the blood of the patients they care for. More than 1,000
of these health care workers will contract dangerous and potentially fatal
diseases as a result of their injuries. This amendment is very important –
it will require hospitals to use safer devices, and it will provide more
effective monitoring of needlestick injuries, so that we can take
additional steps to deal with this danger.
Karen Daley, of Stoughton, Massachusetts, is one of those whose lives
have been forever changed by disposing of a used needle.
Karen is a registered nurse and president of the Massachusetts Nurses
Association. In July 1998, as an emergency room nurse at the Brigham and
Women's Hospital in Boston, she reached into the box used to dispose of a
needle, and felt a sharp cut. By the end of the year, Karen had been
diagnosed with HIV and Hepatitis C. Let me read from a statement she
recently delivered at the Massachusetts State House, where a bill has been
recommended by the relevant committees:
"I have been a practicing nurse for over 25 years. I love clinical
nursing and have felt privileged to care directly for thousands of
patients over the years....I have developed expertise in my practice over
the years that has allowed me to have a significant impact not only on the
quality of care my patients receive, but also in the growth and
professional development of less experienced colleagues... Since January
of this year, I have come to terms with the fact that I am infected with
not one, but two potentially life-threatening diseases....I have had to
have weekly blood tests drawn – over 90 tubes of blood since January...
Experience to date is that treating a person infected with both HIV and
Hepatitis C is extremely difficult and that each infection makes it more
difficult to successfully treat the other.
That one moment in time changed many other things. In addition to the
emotional turmoil that it has created for myself, my family, my friends,
my peers – it has cost me much more than I can ever describe in words. I
am no longer a practicing health care provider– I made the decision to not
return to my clinical practice setting where I have worked for over 20
years. In the process, I have abruptly been forced to leave many
colleagues with whom I've worked for many years and who are as much family
as peers to me. The harder decision for me has been the decision I've made
not to return to clinical nursing.
This injury didn't occur because I wasn't observing universal
precautions that are designed to reduce health care workers' exposure to
blood-borne pathogens. This injury didn't occur because I was careless or
distracted or not paying attention to what I was doing. This injury and
the life-altering consequences I am now suffering should not have
happened...and would not have happened if a safer needlebox system had
been in place in my work setting."
Karen Daley is now battling against two devastating diseases. And it
didn't have to happen. Unfortunately, this scene is repeated more than
1,000 times a year -- in communities across the country. Lynda Arnold, a
30-year-old registered nurse and mother of two adopted children, is now
HIV-positive as a result of a needlestick injury she received in an
intensive care unit in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1992. She has started
the Campaign for Health Care Worker Safety. Lynda writes,
"I no longer work in a hospital. I no longer involve myself in direct
patient care. I do not dream of growing old with my 30-year-old husband or
dancing with my son at his wedding."
These cases are tragedies, and there are many more. At least 20
different bloodborne pathogens can be transmitted by needlestick injuries,
including HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. The average cost of follow-up
for a high-risk exposure is almost $3,000 per incident – even when no
infection occurs. The American Hospital Association estimates that a case
can eventually cost more than $1 million for testing, medical care, lost
time and disability payments.
Up to 80 percent of needlestick injuries could be prevented with the
use of safer needle devices currently available. However, fewer than 15
percent of American hospitals use these products. The primary reason for
not adopting steps to create a safer workplace is the cost. But the
consequences are severe.
Safer needle devices do cost more than conventional needles –
approximately 25 cents more than a conventional syringe. It would cost a
300-bed hospital approximately $70,000 to convert to safe blood
collection, safer hypodermic needles, and safer catheters. But the net
savings from avoiding the excessive costs associated with workplace
injuries are also significant. Hospitals and health care facilities in
California are expected to achieve annual net savings of more than $100
million after implementing a proposal similar to the one now under
consideration.
This is not a partisan issue. The companion bill in the House has
almost 140 cospsonsors – including more than 20 Republicans from across
the political spectrum. Similar bills have recently passed in California,
Texas, Tennessee and Maryland, and have been introduced in more than 20
other states.
These protections have the strong support of the American Nurses
Association, Kaiser Permanente, the American Public Health Association,
the Consumer Federation of America and many, many other groups that
represent nurses, doctors, and other health care workers. In addition, the
Massachusetts Hospital Association and other state level associations have
supported these bills at the state level.
There is no excuse for inaction. Time is of the essence. Every day
3,000 more accidental needlesticks occur. We need to act as soon as
possible. We owe prompt action and greater protection to those who devote
their careers to caring for others. | 