Update: Federal bill to reduce needlestick injuries
If you don’t contact your congressman and urge him or her to support legislation to reduce needlestick injuries, it may not pass this year, warns Kathi Ream, RN, director of government affairs for the Des Plaines, IL-based Emergency Nurses Association, which supports the bill.
On May 20, 1999, Reps. Pete Stark (D-CA) and Marge Roukema (R-NJ) 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. As of press time, 156 representatives have cosponsored the bill, reports Ream.
On the Senate side, a companion bill, S.1140, was introduced by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Harry Reid (D-NV) on May 26, 1999. As of press time, only three other Senators have signed on as cosponsors: John Kerry (D-MA), Charles Schumer (D-NY), and Paul Wellstone (D-MN).
"The more cosponsors we get, the more likely it is the bill will pass this year," says Ream.
A compliance directive issued by the Washington, DC-based Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) instructs OSHA surveyors to strictly enforce existing regulations to reduce needlestick injuries. However, it is aimed at OSHA officers — not directly at hospital administrators, notes Ream. "The directive instructs officers to fine hospitals if they don’t comply. But the reality is, many times hospitals won’t comply until they get cited."
The OSHA directive is a good first step, but federal legislation is needed, Ream argues. "Hospitals should be cleaning up their act now, but the OSHA directive isn’t forcing them unless they are inspected, whereas once the law is passed, they will have to comply, period."
In introducing the bill, Stark stated that health care workers shouldn’t have to risk their lives while saving the lives of their patients. "The technology exists today to prevent the vast majority of these injuries," he said. "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. Four states have passed needlestick injury prevention legislation: California, Maryland, Tennessee, and Texas, reports Ream. (See chart summarizing state needlestick legislation, inserted in this issue.)
The Health Care Worker Needlestick Prevention Act is modeled after the California law, says Ream. "It amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act 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 those 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. The clearinghouse will serve as a resource for employers by designing a training curriculum for selection and use of those devices.
For more information on The Health Care Worker Needlestick Prevention Act, contact:
• Kathi Ream, Government Affairs, Emergency Nurses Association, Suite 403, 205 S. Whiting St., Alexandria, VA 22304. Telephone: (703) 241-3947. Fax: (703) 534-9036. E-mail: [email protected].
Members of the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) can access sample letters for local representatives asking them to sponsor the bill. Go to the ENA Web site, click on the "members only" section, and click on "legislative action center."
The ENA has a position statement, Bloodborne Infectious Diseases. Single copies of position statements are available at no charge. All ENA position statements can be accessed from the Web: www.ena.org. Or to obtain copies, contact:
• Emergency Nurses Association, 915 Lee St., Des Plaines, IL 60016. Telephone: (800) 243-8362 or (847) 460-4000. Fax: (847) 460-4001.
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