Agency helps addicted patients keep needles clean
The Visiting Nurses Association of Greater Philadelphia often treats patients who are addicted to drugs, says Mary Schoen, RN, MSN, MPH, director of education services.
The agency has 500,000 visits a year in Philadelphia and the surrounding area.
"We taught our staff how to teach patients to clean needles with bleach and water," she adds. "Philadelphia has a needle exchange program, and now we give them dates and places and times to exchange these."
The agency also distributes a handout on disinfecting needles and syringes to reduce the risk of HIV infection. The handout was adopted from a Centers for Disease Control of Atlanta "National AIDS Hotline Training Bulletin, #48, of May 5, 1993. The handout advises:
• Wash out needle and syringe by flushing several times with clean water, and shake and tap the syringe while it’s filled with water.
• Fill the needle and syringe several times with full-strength bleach, using fresh bleach each time. Let it stay in the syringe for 30 seconds, and then shake and tap the syringe.
• Rinse out needle and syringe by filling several times with clean water; then shake and tap the syringe while it is filled with water.
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