ISIPS Newsletter October 30, 2009

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Welcome to the ISIPS Newsletter

November 13, 2009

USA Health News

Silent Epidemic of Viral Hepatitis May Lead to Boom in Serious Liver Disease
Washington, DC—More than 500 million persons worldwide are infected with hepatitis B or C virus, estimates the World Health Organization, and more than 5...

How does HIV affect the over fifties?
New survey aims to find out the needs and concerns of people living with HIV who are aged over 50.

Korea: Bird Flu outbreak worrying
The resurgence of bird flu in South Korea is causing concerns to health authorities as the H1N1 flu scare continues, reports state. A low pathogenic avian...

Undeniable that A(H1N1) came from swine
When the Asian countries were hit by the deadly H5N1 (bird flu) last year, America and Europe had no qualms using the phrase 'bird flu' instead of referring...

Fresh Bird Flu Outbreak Worries Health Officials
The resurgence of bird flu in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province is causing concerns to health authorities as the H1N1 flu scare continues.

Bird flu training…just in case
Makaya said the funds would be used to implement an integrated national action plan for preventing and controlling bird flu. He said at least three teams...

Influenza measures for pets in the making
The ministry added that it would conduct inspections of the avian flu quarantine systems of local administrative governments for chickens, ducks and other...

Swine Flu

Swine Flu Clinics to Be Opened to a Broader Group of People This Weekend
Because of low demand among parents of school-age children, city health officials are opening their swine flu vaccination clinics to a...

New U.S. swine flu death estimates will be guess
US health officials are due to release new estimates of deaths from swine flu on...

Beaumont Hospitals start 24-hour swine flu center
The Beaumont Hospitals group has started a 24-hour nurse-staffed hot line for people with questions about swine flu. The suburban Detroit hospital chain...

Should We Worry About Pets Catching H1N1?
There is precedence for an influenza virus which affects people also affecting cats; some cats contracted the avian flu several years ago.

Swine flu: One killer virus, three key questions
He has seen such behaviour before, though — in the few samples of lung tissue he has examined from humans killed by the H5N1 avian flu virus.

2 More H1N1 Flu Deaths Reported
The Iowa Department of Public Health is reporting two more swine flu-related deaths. According to the health department,...

H1N1 confusion a clear warning
That is worrisome, particularly since successive governments have seen other national health scares, including those involving SARS and the West Nile Virus...

Afghanistan ill-prepared for swine flu
Many of them made the incorrect assumption that they would not catch the virus commonly known as swine flu because they don't eat pork.

US sick leave policy toughens swine flu fight: senator
Swine flu is causing "an American emergency" as employees who lack paid sick leave go to work despite being ill and spread the disease,...

Swine flu cases 'levelling off'
The number of swine flu cases in Wales appears to be levelling off and possibly even going down. The chief medical officer for Wales, Dr Tony Jewell,...

FACTBOX-Measures to fight H1N1 swine flu in Europe
Here are some details about measures taken to fight the new H1N1 swine flu, a mixture of swine, bird and human viruses and which has...

Swine flu claims 9th Palm Beach County victim
A 70-year-old man has become Palm Beach County's ninth swine flu victim, county health department...

Swine flu kills 65-year-old Boston man
A 65-year-old Boston man with existing health problems died Oct. 31 from swine flu, the 14th person to succumb to the virus in...

Medical News

FDA commissioner reassures doctors about swine flu vaccine safety
Hamburg said 41 million doses of the swine flu vaccine are available as of today. The letter also said that federal agencies are making extraordinary...

Patients With More Difficult to Treat Forms of Hepatitis C are Half as Likely...
“Overall, only about 30 percent of hepatitis C patients choose to initiate treatment for the disease,” said Thomas McGinn, MD, senior study author and chief...

Virological pattern of hepatitis B infection in an HIV-positive man with fatal...
There seem to be no published data concerning the clinical impact of populations of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in the hepatic and extrahepatic...

West Nile

5th Miss. West Nile Death Reported
A Rankin County resident became Mississippi's fifth death of 2009 attributed to West Nile virus, state health officials said Wednesday.

Response Biomedical to release quarterly results Nov. 10
RAMP Tests are currently provided for the environmental detection of West Nile virus, and biodefense applications including the rapid on-site detection of...

Luer Lock Adapters

The Baxa Luer Lock Adapters with Spike are used for the reconstitution and aspiration of drugs in vials. This single-use product comes sterile and non-pyrogenic.

The Baxa Luer Lock Adapters with Spike are used for the reconstitution and aspiration of drugs in vials.

It provides true needleless access to both single and multi dose medication vials.

For more information click here.

MiniLoc® Safety Infusion Set is Specialized Health Products’ premier safety Huber needle. MiniLoc is designed with an ultra-low profile, small footprint and enhanced angled tubing to facilitate dressing and help maintain dressing integrity.

MiniLoc’s specially lubricated needle reduces penetration and access forces during port access. Its needle forward design facilitates dual lumen port access. MiniLoc is latex free and features DEHP free tubing. MiniLoc’s ergonomic, integral wing design allows controlled, easy safety mechanism engagement. An audible “click” as well as tactile feel and a visual indicator confirm safety mechanism engagement.

Facilitates Dual Lumen Port Access

For a complete features and benefits listing as well as an in-service video, visit our website at www.shpi.com or call us at 800-306-3360

Access Scientific

In 1953, the newly introduced Seldinger Technique represented a significant improvement in vascular access technology. Later, the Modified Seldinger Technique further advanced ease-of-access, by using a dilator coupled with a sheath, and eventually evolved into today’s standard, over-wire insertion technique. Despite its advantages, hazards are associated with the Modified Seldinger Technique. These include: accidental needlestick injury, guidewire embolus,contamination, bleeding, lost cannulation during the procedure… and more. The WAND enables healthcare
providers to utilize the new Accelerated Seldinger Technique, representing a quantum leap forward in vascular access technology.

The WAND is an all-in-one (needle-guidewire-dilatorsheath) safety introducer that speeds over-wire vascular access while reducing the risk of guidewire embolus, contamination and accidental needlestick injury. Experienced clinicians are hailing The WAND as the new standard in vascular access technology—faster, safer and simpler.

The Accelerated Seldinger Technique reduces the number of exchanges and steps necessary for vascular access. It reduces the risk of air embolism, contamination, guidewire embolus, loss of cannulation during the procedure, and accidental needlestick injury.

For more information click here.

CDC now says 4,000 swine flu deaths in US
Federal health officials now say that 4,000 or more Americans likely have died from swine flu — about four times the estimate they've been using.

Drug-swapping nurse tests negative for HIV
The former surgical nurse at Boulder Community Hospital who admitted using dirty needles to steal painkillers from patients has tested negative in a series of HIV and hepatitis tests.

How safe is it
Can I get HIV from an infected needle? Can I get Hepatitis B or C from an infected needle?

Investigation Of Contaminated Heparin Syringes Highlights Medication Safety Issues
An outbreak of bloodstream infections appears to have been caused by the contamination of pre-filled heparin and saline syringes made by a single company, according to a report in the October 12 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Explanation demanded over hospital infection scare
Earlier this year, 218 patients at Inverell Hospital were put at risk of contracting a blood-borne infection when medical equipment that should have been disposed of after a single use, was reused.

Stuck by a Needle, Not by a Decision
I didn’t think it would happen to me so soon, just a few months after beginning my second career as a nurse. I stuck my thumb with a large-bore needle filled with the blood of a patient with hepatitis C who had come to the emergency room with abdominal pain.

Film captures health workers' role in early days of AIDS
Volberding said he sees similarities between the recent hysteria and reactions to swine flu, avian flu, and the SARS outbreaks to how people both within and...

HIV epidemic feared
The spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) may turn into epidemic as the virus is being originated in the country apart from spreading through...

FACTBOX-Differences between men's and women's health
Teenaged girls are at risk of unsafe, unwanted and forced activity that can make them vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, other infections, unwanted pregnancy...

New Flu Victim: Blood Supply
A number of blood centers are reporting an unusual drop in collections because too many potential donors are sick with the H1N1 virus, or swine flu.

How far have we come from 'Precious'?
Precious learns she's HIV-positive after her mother clinically informs her that her father died "of the AIDS," and her young life is suddenly limited by a`QA...

ViiV Healthcare Company: The Latest In HIV Research And Care
The company plans to balance drug development and research with patient needs issues, such as accessibility of HIV medication. The partnership seeks to...

Health Buzz: AIDS Is World's Top Killer of Younger Women and Other Health News
A new study released by the World Health Organization finds that HIV is the leading cause of death in women ages 15 to 44, the Associated...

OSHA Violations

...recent citations issued

Chatt-Ham Co Hospital-Erlanger Hospital

Chattanooga, TN

Engineering and work practice controls shall be used to eliminate or minimize employee exposure. Where occupational exposure remains after institution of these controls, personal protective equipment shall also be used.

Contaminated needles and other contaminated sharps shall not be bent, recapped, or removed. Shearing or breaking of contaminated needles is prohibited.

Food and drink shall not be kept in refrigerators, freezers, shelves, cabinets or on countertops or benchtops where blood or other potentially infectious materials are present.

Reusable sharps that are contaminated with blood or other potentially infectious materials shall not be stored or processed in a manner that requires employees to reach by hand into the containers where these sharps have been placed.

Contaminated sharps shall be discarded immediately or as soon as feasible in containers that are puncture resistant.

The employer shall establish and maintain an accurate record for each employee with occupational exposure including the name and social security number of the employee.

U.S. Coast Guard

Kodiak, AK

Contaminated needles and other contaminated sharps shall not be bent, recapped, or removed. Shearing or breaking of contaminated needles is prohibited.

ISIPS Corporate Members

Please click on any ISIPS member below to view their sharps safety products!

Real Needlestick and
Blood Exposure Stories

I'm working my way through school and I had a low risk exposure. I was giving a bed bath to a known AIDS patient (unbeknownst to me because I never worked with the patient before and the person rang before report) and the patient was covered with diarrhea and the polluted water splashed up in my eye. I ripped off my glove and began flushing the eye. Then I exited the wing (Any one with an respiratory/contagious diseases are placed in an isolation wing which has negative air pressure and that is where I was assigned). Anyhow I went to the ED, filled out the reports, got checked, had eye my eye flushed again with saline, and was placed on antivirals for 4 weeks.

Featured Safety Product

The Safety SubCulture Unit (SCU) is a sharps safety device used to obtain samples from positive blood culture bottles. Needleless sampling reduces risk of needlestick injury.

The plastic tip safely pierces the bottle septum and makes it easy to insert and remove from the culture bottle. The integrated filter cap controls gas or culture discharge for an added level of safety.

Sampling Options
Safety SubCulture Unit offers unique dispensing options for controlled sampling. The SCU sampling channel has been designed to dispense drops directly from a tilted culture bottle.

The female luer connection allows for needleless syringe draw and dispensing technique.

The Safety SubCulture Unit (SCU) has integrated safety for subculture procedures which:

reduces the risk of injury because it is needleless
reduces the risk of exposure from gaseous discharge

The SCU is compatible with a variety of culture bottles.

For more information on the Safety SubCulture Unit or to request product samples, please visit the ITL website at www.itlcorporation.com, or contact ITL via phone at 888-411-2851 or via email at sales@itlus.com.

Sharps Containers

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At Bemis, the first priority in sharps container development is safety--safety for your patients and your staff. All units are designed for safe use, effectively blocking hand access from discarded sharps. Units snap together, permanently locking with tight seams between the bases and covers. Walls are puncture-resistant too, meeting or exceeding ASTM standards.

For optimum efficiency, Bemis offers a variety of sharps disposal units so your staff can work with the size that fits the application, reducing overall hospital waste. Bemis Sharps containers are designed to nest, saving money in shipping and storage too.

Bemis Sharps Containers are designed for a range of ideal size-to-use applications. While some sharps containers require you to invest in an expensive locking cabinet, Bemis Sharps Containers offer unobtrusive mounting brackets to complement any patient or treatment room setting. Either type of mounting bracket allows for easy, safe changeover.

For more information click here.

Anatomy of Needlestick Injury; Ron Stoker, Business Briefing: Global Healthcare- Advanced Medical Technologies 2004- Infection Control and Epidemiology
Needlestick Injury Prevention, Ron Stoker, Business Briefing: Global Healthcare 2003

Specially designed syringes maximize flue vaccine supply - Syringes reduce costs and and increase healthcare worker safety and patient comfort
Evaluation of The BD IntegraTM 3ml Syringe with Retracting BD PrecisionGlide™ Needle at Texas Children’s Hospital and Test-Med

Safety Wound Closure Presentation
Sharps Safety - Gaps and successes of safety device market conversion By Amber Hogan
Technology and the engineering of safety devices has increased since the promulgation of the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (BPS) (29 CFR 1910.1030) in 1991. As a result, OSHA revised its enforcement procedures in 1999 (CPL 02-02-069) to include guidance for its compliance safety and health officers to begin citing health care employers for failure to use safety devices where their use is feasible and effective.

Not Just painful, Deadly! Patients aren't the only ones scared of Needles By Ron Stoker
Future Healthcare, Summer 2006 p 121-3

Academy for Safety Excellence

Terry Jo Gile, MT (ASCP), MA Ed.
The Safety Lady
and
Ronald L. Stoker, MS
Executive Director and Founder - ISIPS
International Sharps Injury Prevention Society

The Academy for Lab Safety Excellence is a program designed by Safety Lady LLC to help you make the transition from bench tech to lab safety officer. You will learn to navigate the world of laboratory safety from the Safety Lady. You will discover the secrets to lab safety excellence that has taken others years to acquire. You will be able to network with colleagues to help you solve your most challenging safety issues.

This Academy is a perfect way to advance your safety knowledge if you:

Are new to lab safety or have limited experience in lab safety issues
Find it frustrating to locate safety information from a variety of sources
Want to expand the impact of your lab safety expertise
Want to increase your effectiveness in educating staff on lab safety issues
Need ready access to colleagues whose expertise in lab safety is well known
Would like to network with your peers on a regular basis for lab safety ideas
Have a limited budget for safety education

You can expect:

A 30 minute personal mentoring phone call to address your specific lab safety challenges
A minimum of eight conference calls over a 12 month period with other members of the Academy to brainstorm safety issues and cover a particular safety topic including:
- Conducting a proper safety audit and why it is important
- Designing and implementing a comprehensive chemical hygiene program
- Protecting employees through the use of ergonomic tools and PPE
- Shipping of infectious and biological substances
  Infection control and prevention
- Bloodborne pathogens and sharps injury prevention
- What's new in waste management
- Training methods that won't put your staff to sleep
- Timely updates via email with lab safety information before it is posted on the website or in the Safety Savvy newsletter
- Special audio conferences with guest experts on a variety of lab safety topics
- Sample safety templates to make documentation easier
- Unlimited emails to the ISIPS Executive Secretary
- Discounts on featured Safety products
- Ten(10) P.A.C.E. contact hours after successfully completing the Academy

An investment of $249 for all sessions
Dates for the Academy:
- October 22, 2009, November 12. 2009, January 14, 2010, February 11, 2010, March 11, 2010, April 15, 2010, May 20, 2010, June 10, 2010

The scheduled start time for all Academy webinars will be

10 am PDT, 11 am MDT, 12 pm CDT, 1 pm PDT, A preview webinar will be held on September 22 at 11 am MDT.

Preview Webinar - Academy of Safety
Tuesday, September 22nd at 11:00am Mountain
Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast -- it's your choice)
TO ATTEND THIS EVENT, CLICK THIS LINK NOW...
http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=8575968

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ISIPS
10046 Prestwick Circle

South Jordan, Utah 84095