Needlestick Prevention

Fask Masks reduce Bloodborne Pathogen Exposure

2009-06-01T12:02:00.000-07:00

When there is occupational exposure, OSHA requires that employers shall provide, at no cost to the employee, appropriate personal protective equipment such gloves, gowns, laboratory coats, face shields or masks and eye protection, and mouthpieces, resuscitation bags, pocket masks, or other ventilation devices.

Personal protective equipment will be considered "appropriate" only if it does not permit blood or other potentially infectious materials to pass through to or reach the employee's work clothes, street clothes, undergarments, skin, eyes, mouth, or other mucous membranes under normal conditions of use and for the duration of time which the protective equipment will be used.

FACE-IT shields provide OSHA level protection against splash of bodily fluids to the face for the medical, dental and emergency medical healthcare workers. Non-medical shield uses are for non-impact protection such as keeping paint, dust, dirt and oil off your face and eye glasses. FACE-IT has a patented flat viewing area and a comfortable foam barrier which molds to the forehead for extra protection.

Model 16000Two models of a full face shield are available. Standard model 16000 features a patented flat viewing surfaceto minimize glare and distortion.

DRAPE Shield, model 18000,adds a fluid barrier fabric to bottomof shield to protect upper neckand chin area from splash under shield. FACE-IT shields are packaged 50 to a dispenser box,2 dispenser boxes to a carton (100 shields per carton).

Contact Onyx Medical for more details.

Evaluation Forms for Safety Products - reducing needlesticks and other sharps injuries!

2009-06-01T09:04:00.001-07:00

It is important to evaluate safety products with the end in mind - reducing sharps injuries!

ISIPS has put together design criteria for the evaluation of several medical devices. The following documents are available as downloadable files (PDF) which can be viewed and printed with Adobe Acrobat.

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The Compendium of Infection Control Technologies is now available in a digital format.

2009-05-30T12:54:00.000-07:00

Safety Product Evaluation Forms

The OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Standard mandates that each facility have an Exposure Control Plan that is updated on a frequent (at least annual) basis. The following guidelines are provided by ISIPS to assist facilities in accomplishing this.

Each facility that has personnel that potentially will come in contact with human blood or other potentially infectious materials must implement a sharps safety program to evaluate the use of alternative devices to prevent sharps injuries.

The following will help facilities to appropriately implement a sharps safety program:
Review available sharps injury data for the facility and each of its departments and answer the following questions:

What personnel were involved in the sharps injuries?
What sharps devices were being used? \
What were the circumstances of the sharps injuries?
How frequent are sharps injuries?
Determine what alternative safer sharps devices exist to replace the devices currently used. The Compendium of Infection Control Technologies can assist in product identification.
Evaluate the effectiveness of safer sharps devices for each individual workplace setting in the department.
Make sure that this is not a decision made by management only. OSHA mandates that non-managerial personnel MUST be included in the selection of safer sharps devices. Involve individuals from all areas of the facility that would interact with the safety product.
The evaluations of safety products MUST be documented and be available as part of the Exposure Control Plan. Remember the Exposure Control Plan MUST be updated at least annually. Failure to document such evaluations can result in significant OSHA fines.
Each facility should develop Safety Feature Evaluation Forms that are specific for the facility.
Each individual on the evaluation team should fill out the appropriate Safety Feature Evaluation Form.
As part of the Exposure Control Plan summarize what safer sharps devices were evaluated indicating why a specific device was or was not implemented. Make sure that the dates of implementation are indicated.
Need a comprehensive list of safety products? Go to the ISIPS website safety product list for the most recent information on safety products.

APIC Conference

2009-05-30T12:31:00.000-07:00

NEEDLESTICK PREVENTION - INAUGURAL POST
I am starting this inaugural post just a few days before we head to the APIC conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Friday. We are looking forward to the opportunity of meeting many of you at the conference. Please come see ISIPS at our booth. We'll be having a special drawing each day for a digital copy of The Compendium of Infection Control Technologies. It has information about current safety products that are available for purchase now.

In upcoming posts of this blog, we'll be focusing on safety products that have recently been introduced to the market. Stay tuned for more information about safety products.

I hope that you are aware of the most comprehensive list of safety products found on the Internet. Please go to www.ISIPS.org/safetyproductlist.php