If you operate a surgery center in Alabama, Florida, Georgia or Mississippi, inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration may be paying an unannounced visit soon to review your sharps safety policies.
The inspections, which began April 25 and will continue until Sept. 30, 2012, are part of a regional emphasis program targeting bloodborne infection hazards in the southeastern United States. "Needlestick and other sharps-related injuries that expose workers to bloodborne pathogens continue to be an important public health concern," says Cindy Coe, OSHA's regional administrator in Atlanta. "Employers must take seriously their responsibility to protect workers from these health risks."
A sample of ASCs, freestanding emergency care clinics and primary care medical clinics that provide acute, chronic and emergency care in the 4 targeted states will be inspected for their policies and programs aimed at protecting workers from infection risks associated with contaminated sharps devices, says OSHA. The agency will conduct these reviews in addition to the usual inspections it launches in response to complaints or allegations of sharps exposures.
If violations of the bloodborne pathogens standard (1910.1030) or any other OSHA standards are found, facilities could be subject to citations and penalties, says the agency.
For more information, you can contact OSHA's Benjamin Ross at (678) 237-0424. To report incidents or safety hazards that pose an imminent danger in the workplace, call the agency's toll-free hotline: (800) 321-OSHA. And for tips and resources to develop and implement a sharps safety policy at your facility, see AORN's new Sharps Safety Tool Kit.
Irene Tsikitas
