Campaign urges agencies to put safety first
Campaign urges agencies to put safety first
Entering next phase of recruiting organizations
Changing the status quo can be difficult, at best, a lesson that comes as no surprise to Lynda Arnold, RN, an activist for needlestick prevention who became HIV-positive as the direct result of a needlestick. Earlier this year, Arnold and the International Healthcare Worker Safety Center (IHWSC) began a campaign to increase the number of home care workers using needleless systems and safety devices. (See Home Infusion Therapy Management, March, p. 35.) And so far, the response has been less than stellar.
"It’s a slow process in trying to change the perspective about the issue," says Arnold, "but institutions and facilities are beginning to take this a little more seriously and are realizing there will be more direct costs associated with follow-up treatment to needlesticks."
The fact is that cost is what dictates how most health care organizations operate.
"It’s very sad, but the reality is that hospitals and health care facilities are businesses, and the economic side of it is the bottom line," says Arnold. "I would like to think that employee safety was more of an issue than the cost, but the reality is it’s not true. That doesn’t mean they’re bad people or bad administrators; it’s just the reality of the whole situation."
In 1996, the IHWSC concentrated on hospitals, with less than 10% responding. As the focus has shifted to home care in 1997, the industry has presented Arnold and the Center with a unique problem.
"There aren’t as many mailing lists and databases out there for the home care agencies," says Arnold.
However, those she has been able to reach have been receptive. "When I speak and exhibit, members of the audience in home care really want this information," she says. "Much of the concern is coming from the home care staff themselves, who feel they are out alone. If accidents are going to happen, they tend to happen in blood drawing and IV insertions."
Nearly every patient a home infusion nurse sees presents the risk of infection, unlike their hospital peers who don’t do just IV insertions.
As 1997 comes to a close, the campaign will work on three efforts. While continuing to contact home care agencies, it will retarget the hospitals that already use safety devices and try to enlist their support. Lastly, the IHWSC is preparing to get the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) involved.
"The biggest push now is we’re going to try and push OSHA to write a new directive on safer needle devices," says Arnold. "For a long time, I didn’t want to have to bring big government into this, but now as I’ve seen the campaign grow, I don’t think it could hurt."
[Editor’s note: To receive a packet from the International Healthcare Worker Safety Center or for more information on the IHWSC, call (610) 279-1632, or visit its Web site at http://www.health caresafety.com.]
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