Health Care Workers
Say Bill Will Save Thousands of Lives
Members of the
nation's largest health care union say passage of bipartisan legislation
in the U.S. Senate today will protect health care workers from deadly
needlestick injuries that can spread HIV and hepatitis C.
"This bill will
save the lives of thousands of health care workers," said Andrew L.
Stern, SEIU president. "Today's Senate action is a victory for health
care workers nationwide."
The bill requires
the use of newer, safer devices in health facilities by strengthening
OSHA's standard on bloodborne pathogens. These devices automatically
retract, cover, or blunt needles immediately after they are used.
The bill also
requires that workers who provide direct patient care have a role
in determining which safer needles to use in their workplaces, and
consistent documentation of all needlestick injuries.
An estimated
600,000 to 800,000 needlestick injuries occur each year - two thousand
every day. More than 1,000 of those workers contract hepatitis C or
HIV.
[SEIU press release
26 October 2000]
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Why
we need a federal law to prevent needlesticks:
• 600,000 to 800,000 health care workers are accidentally stuck
by needles each year.
• More than 1,000 of these workers will contract serious diseases,
such as HIV or hepatitis B or C.
• If stuck by a contaminated needle, a worker and his or her
family must live through a terrifying six months or longer to
find out if the worker is infected.
Safer
needles exist today that can prevent the spread of disease.
• Safer needles have such features as a protective shield or
a mechanism that automatically retracts the needles into the
barrel after use.
• The FDA has cleared more than 250 such devices for marketing,
yet only 15% of needles used by hospitals today are safer needles.
• Most hospitals are not buying or even evaluating safer needles,
and regulatory agencies are not requiring them to use safer
products.
"For the
price of a postage stamp, for 33 cents,we could save health
care workers' lives." – Andrew L. Stern, President, SEIU, Service
Employees International Union
From SEIU
web site (see link above)
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[Last updated
7 September 2001]
