|
"...accidental
needlesticks
among
healthcare
workers
by 76%,
the
highest
rate of
any
device
studied.
Accidental
needlesticks
number
about
one
million
per year
in the
United
States
and can
result
in the
transmission
of
deadly
diseases..."
Federal
Safety
Needle
Legislation
VERNON,
Conn.--(BW
HealthWire)--May
20,
1999--The
momentum
toward
mandating
safe
needles
to
protect
health
care
workers
continues
to grow.
Today in
Washington,
D.C.,
Representative
Pete
Stark
(D-California)
and
Representative
Marge
Roukema
(R-NJ)
introduced
a bill
in
Congress
mandating
the use
safe
needles
for
healthcare
workers.
The
proposed
legislation
mirrors
the 1998
California
law
requiring
that
hospitals
use
needles
designed
with
`engineered
controls'
to
protect
the
workers
from
accidental
needlesticks.
``Mandating
the use
of safe
needles
on a
national
level
will
have a
tremendous
impact
in
preventing
accidental
needlesticks,''
said Tom
Sutton,
Executive
Vice
President
at
Bio-Plexus,
Inc.
According
to
Congressman
Stark's
office, needlestick
injuries
caused
by
hollow-bore
needles
account
for 86%
of all
reported
occupational
HIV
exposures,
and
every
year
more
than 200
health
care
workers
die of
occupationally
acquired
hepatitis.
``If
safety
needles
are
nationally
mandated,
as it
appears
they may
be,
conventional,
`unsafe'
needles
will
become
obsolete,''
Sutton
concluded.
In
addition
to being
endorsed
by
Bio-Plexus,
the act
is also
supported
by
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.
On the
state
level,
legislation
mandating
the use
of
safety
needles
has
passed
in
California
and
Tennessee.
In
April,
Maryland
passed a
bill
requiring
the
state to
develop
recommendations
to
protect
health
care
workers.
Legislation
is
pending
in
Texas,
New
Jersey,
Arkansas,
Connecticut,
Massachusetts,
Michigan,
and New
York.
Bio-Plexus,
Inc. (NASDAQ:BPLX
- news),
designs,
develops,
manufactures,
markets,
and
holds
U.S. and
international
patents
on
safety
medical
needles
and
other
products
under
the
PUNCTUR-GUARD®
and
DROP-IT®
brand
names.
In a
Centers
for
Disease
Control
study,
Punctur-Guard
Blood
Collection
Needles
were
found to
reduce
the rate
of
accidental
needlesticks
among
healthcare
workers
by 76%,
the
highest
rate of
any
device
studied.
Accidental
needlesticks
number
about
one
million
per year
in the
United
States
and can
result
in the
transmission
of
deadly
diseases
including
HIV and
Hepatitis.
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