Policy Manual sample

MDT Home Health Care Agency, Inc. NEEDLE-STICK PREVENTION AND SHARPS SAFETY Purpose: Prevention of percutaneous needlestick and sharps injury that carries a risk of infection from bloodborne pathogens. SHARPS INJURY PREVENTION Procedure: 1) All of our staff are encourage to use safer devices, is solid evidence that devices with safety features significantly reduce needlestick injuries 2) Maintain a preventable exposures by identifying, as a starting point, the highest risk procedures and devices and implementing the most effective control measures. 3) Elimination of Hazard – we will ask the patient’s physician if is possible substitute injections by administering medications through another route, such as tablet, inhaler, or transdermal patches, for example. 4) Remove sharps and needles and eliminate all unnecessary injections. Jet injectors may substitute for syringes and needles. 5) Other examples include the elimination of unnecessary sharps like towel clips and using needleless intravenous (IV) systems. 6) Engineering Controls – such as needles that retract, sheathe, or blunt immediately after use. 7) No re-capping, placing sharps containers at eye-level and at arms reach 8) Emptying sharps containers before they're full, and establishing the means for safe handling and disposing of sharps devices before beginning a procedure. 9) Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – barriers and filters between the worker and the hazard. Examples include eye goggles, face shields, gloves, masks, and gowns. 10) Use puncture-proof containers to dispose of sharps and needles. Containers must be closed, puncture resistant, leak proof, color coded, and emptied routinely to prevent overfilling. 11) Provide all employees at risk for occupational exposure with interactive training on the use of safer devices, work practices, and PPE from a knowledgeable person. Workers must receive training when hired and at least once a year, or whenever there is a modification of tasks or procedures. We will maintain a sharps injury log for the recording of percutaneous injuries from contaminated sharps. The log must contain, at a minimum, the following information: · Date of the injury · Type and brand of the device involved · Department or work area where the incident occurred · Explanation of how the incident occurred The data contained in the log can be used to: · Analyze injury frequencies by specific attributes like work units, devices, and procedures. · Identify high-risk devices and procedures. · Identify injuries that could be prevented. · Evaluate the efficacy of newly implemented safe devices. · Share and compare information and successes with other institutions. As we analyze the log data, the Infection Control committee should identify high priorities for action, especially to eliminate the highest risk devices and prevent the highest risk and most frequently occurring injuries. However, remember that according to our Policy, the goal of the committee is to prevent all types of exposures and minimize all risks. Home Health Agency - - Skilled Professional Services C-38