Download Emergency Responders Bloodborne Pathogens

Emergency Responders Bloodborne Pathogens
Emergency responders save lives. As a group, they are highly skilled
professionals dedicated to their jobs, and they perform these jobs above and
beyond the call of duty on a daily basis. Regardless of the obstacles, the
problems, the long hours they come through in emergencies. The general public
doesn't think about the services these professionals provide they know the
services will be there when and if the need arises. Whether you're a police
officer, fire professional, industrial first aid or CPR trained person, Emergency
Medical Technician or other emergency responder, you have a big responsibility
that requires a lot of skill, training, expertise and dedication to the job.
Emergency responders save lives.
In your job as emergency responders, there's a new threat to your own personal
safety and health and it's called bloodborne pathogens. Bloodborne pathogens
have existed since medical treatment has been provided, however, in recent
years the threat of exposure to HIV, or the AIDS virus through contact with
human blood has created alarm and concern for the health of those persons
performing medical treatment. You can't tell a person has HIV, or other
bloodborne pathogen by looking at them. An accident victim needs help and it's
your job to provide the assistance needed, whether they're bleeding or not. Your
job takes on a lot of responsibility. Not only for the medical assistance, but also
for your own health and safety while providing these services. That's what this
program is all about protecting your health from bloodborne pathogens while
you're performing these services. Let's begin with explaining bloodborne
pathogens. AIDS is an infectious disease. It is contagious, but it cannot be
spread in the same manner as a common cold or measles. It's contagious in the
same way that sexually transmitted diseases, such as syphilis and gonorrhea are
contagious. It is clear that the AIDS virus is not transmitted by casual contact.
The disease AIDS, or Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome is caused by the
Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV. AIDS is a pattern of symptoms that
together characterize a particular disease or disorder. AIDS is not a virus and the
words HIV and AIDS are not interchangeable, however, the general public uses
these two words interchangeably, which is not medically correct. In the
workplace, occupational exposure to HIV is a risk, although a relatively small risk.
However, precautions must be taken to reduce even the smallest risk to
occupational exposure to HIV and other bloodborne pathogens. Another serious
disease, or bloodborne occupational exposure that emergency responders face
is HBV or hepatitis B. Hepatitis B is perhaps the more common exposure,
however, both HIV and HBV require specific precautions to prevent exposure.
Certainly there are other bloodborne pathogens, however, the precautions taken
to prevent exposure to HIV and HBV are adequate to prevent exposure to all
other bloodborne pathogens.
Studies have shown these viruses can be transmitted by blood and other body
fluids, including semen, vaginal fluids, pregnancy fluid, brain and backbone
fluids, joint and chest fluids, abdominal and heart fluids. There are personal
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methods of transmission, such as sex with an infected person, sharing needles
with IV drug users and other high-risk behavior; however, this program is directed
at occupational exposures of bloodborne pathogens.
OSHA, or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have published
new rules and standards for the Control of Occupational Exposures to
Bloodborne Pathogens, which your employer must follow and implement. Written
information, such as an exposure control plan and other procedures is available
for your review and use, should you want more information about your
employer's plan and procedures. A copy of the Federal Regulations pertaining to
Bloodborne Pathogens is also available for your use.
When we talk about occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens, specifically
HIV and HBV, the information generally applies to your normal, routine duties,
but contingency plans for an emergency or accident must be considered. Likely
exposures are those persons working in hospitals, clinics, dental offices and
anyone REASONABLY ANTICIPATED coming in contact with blood and body
fluids, such as emergency responders which includes police, fire, ambulance
drivers, emergency medical technicians and those persons who are trained and
assigned duties as first aid or CPR providers. In a manufacturing plant, an
assembly worker would not be reasonably anticipated coming in contact with
blood or body fluids, unless that person was assigned the additional job as a first
aid or CPR provider. Naturally, anyone who is exposed to blood or body fluids is
at risk, so the information about bloodborne pathogens should be provided to
everyone, regardless of their exposures. The reason for this is when a person is
injured; it's human nature to run to the rescue. An automobile accident victim
needs help and if no one is there to provide assistance, the first person on the
scene wants to help, but without some knowledge about bloodborne pathogens,
they could be at risk of exposure to HIV or HBV.
Let's quickly review some of the elements of an EXPOSURE CONTROL PLAN.
Again, this is a written plan, designed to provide the necessary engineering
controls, training, personal protective equipment to prevent exposures to
bloodborne pathogens. First, each individual job that potentially could expose a
person to bloodborne pathogens must be identified and the job description and
classifications where these exposures may occur. The plan must set forth a
schedule for implementing the OSHA standard and must specify the procedure
for evaluation of the circumstances surrounding exposure incidents. Generally, if
an exposure does occur, management must investigate the circumstances of the
incident and develop additional procedures or precautions to take to prevent
future incidents, as much as possible. The plan must be updated at least
annually, or more often if necessary to accommodate workplace changes. If you
want to review this exposure control plan, contact your supervisor for more
information.
In addition to personal hygiene and safe work practices, additional means of
prevention are through engineering controls. This means controlling or
eliminating the hazards at their sources. Emergency responders may not have all
the engineering controls that could be found in a hospital or emergency treatment
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center, such as autoclaves or sterilizing units, but there are other measures
available to reduce exposures. Disinfectants kill bacteria through chemical
means, so these engineering controls are available to most emergency
situations. Waste containers for contaminated needles and other sharps are
considered engineering controls. Perhaps the most important precautions that
can be taken by emergency responders to reduce risks to bloodborne pathogens
are personal hygiene. We addressed the fact that blood and certain body fluids
can carry the HIV and HBV viruses, but other body fluids do not carry the viruses,
unless contaminated with blood. Universal Precautions is a designation in the
medical community that encourages treating all body fluids as potentially harmful
and should be treated as containing bloodborne pathogens. In this context,
emergency responders should treat all blood and all body fluids as potentially
harmful and contaminated. With this attitude, you can develop individual work
practices to prevent exposures. The Universal Precautions concept is very valid
and can greatly reduce the risks of exposures by treating all body fluids as
contaminated with bloodborne pathogens.
What are some of the things that emergency responders can do to reduce
exposures? First of all, use gloves when working with blood or body fluids.
Gloves can prevent the transmission of pathogens from the victim to the
responder. In the event of a major injury, where there is the possibility of
exposure to the eyes or mucous membranes, a facemask and eye protection
would be necessary. Minor injuries require minimal protection, such as gloves,
but in other cases, a mask and eye protection would be required. That's what
you're company's exposure control plan is designed to do and that's specify what
protection is needed for specific exposures.
If you use sharps, such as needles, approved sharps containers are required. In
an emergency situation, where there's a lot going on, confusion and frantically
trying to save a person's life, a contaminated needle could expose you or
someone else to needle stick and an exposure. Your organization must decide
the best method of reducing these exposures and providing proper containers for
sharps. Emergency responders must also consider the exposure to contaminated
clothing and supplies, such as band-aids, gauze, linens, blankets and other blood
or body fluid contamination. In these cases, approved containers for
contaminated clothing must be made available to prevent exposures to
bloodborne pathogens. Never pick up any broken glassware or sharps with your
hands. Use tongs or a broom and dustpan, but never your hands. One of the
most serious methods of transmission of these diseases is through skin puncture
with contaminated blood or blood products. Use extreme caution when handling
sharps and use proper containers for disposal of these sharps.
Personal hygiene is more than taking a shower and washing your hands every
day. It also includes prohibiting eating, smoking, drinking or applying cosmetics in
areas where bloodborne pathogens may be present. Regular hand washing,
particularly with a germicidal or anti-bacterial soap is mandatory immediately
after removing gloves or other protective equipment after coming in contact with
blood or body fluids. Gloves must be discarded and not washed or reused. In
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some situations, water may not be readily available, however, there are disposal
germicidal wipes you can use in the field, to use until you get to proper hand
washing facilities. You must also keep any personal protective equipment clean,
sanitized, properly stored and free of contaminated products. While we're talking
about cleaning and sanitizing, let's explain the difference. Cleaning with soap and
water simply removes dirt, blood and other residue from the surface you're
cleaning. Sanitizing is the method of actually killing the bacteria on a surface and
this can be accomplished by sterilizing in an autoclave, or by using a disinfectant.
A good disinfectant, recommended by the U.S. Public Health Service and
Centers for Disease Control is to make a household bleach solution of onequarter cup of bleach to one gallon of water solution. Commercial disinfectants
are also available for sanitizing equipment and working surfaces. There is a big
difference between cleaning and sanitizing. Sanitizing actually kills bacteria,
where cleaning only removes the obvious residues from the surface.
Emergency responders, who are reasonably anticipated, to become exposed to
bloodborne pathogens can obtain vaccination from Hepatitis B virus, at no cost to
the employee. This vaccine is not mandatory, but it is available. If you are not
sure whether you should be immunized against HBV, consult your physician or
medical advisor about the vaccine. If you decline the vaccine, you must sign a
declination form, stating you decline the vaccine. However, at any time, if you are
still in a job that exposes you to bloodborne pathogens, you may choose to have
the vaccine administered. There is no requirement for you to be pre-screened
before taking the Hepatitis B vaccine.
In the event of an exposure incident, such as a needle stick, contamination of the
mouth, eye, mucous membrane or other puncture of the skin, the first thing to do
is wash the exposed area with water and then seek medical attention as quickly
as possible. Fast action is the key to prevention. Always report any incident or
potential exposure to your supervisor so medical attention can be provided. Post
exposure evaluation and follow up programs will be made available to you,
should you become exposed to bloodborne pathogens.
Medical records are confidential and only certain information may be provided to
your employer. At no time will the results of any testing or other medical
evaluation be reported to your employer. You physician will discuss all pertinent
medical evaluations and diagnoses with you, but will not reveal this information to
your employer. Your rights to confidentiality are protected.
Ok, some more tips to help reduce occupational exposures to bloodborne
pathogens. Generally, sharps containers and regulated waste must be identified
by color-coding and with appropriate labels. Warning labels include the orange or
orange-red biohazard symbol affixed to containers of regulated waste and other
containers that are used to store or transport blood or other potentially infectious
materials. Red bags or containers may be used with biohazard labels and signs.
Do not place "biohazards" in infectious waste containers. Infectious waste is
different from biohazards, although some infectious waste, if contaminated with
blood or blood products can be classified as a biohazard.
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There are other rules and procedures to reduce exposures to bloodborne
pathogens and these will be part of your organization's on going training program
and compliance with these new regulations. The most important part of
prevention and controlling exposures is YOU. It takes an effort on your part to
follow the rules, maintain good housekeeping and hygiene practices, watch for
and eliminate potential hazards and follow through with a good safety attitude.
You and your attitude remain the most important part of reducing exposure to
bloodborne pathogens. If you have any questions, ask your supervisor. If you
have any questions about bloodborne pathogens, universal precautions or any
information relating to reducing exposures, a competent person who is
knowledgeable about OSHA’s new rules and other information discussed in this
program will answer them. This information may be provided in person, or by
telephone communications with this competent person.
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