Key Questions Looking Forward
In 2021 , will we see percentages of device types change because of the pandemic ? If we don ’ t manage the delivery of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines using devices with sharps injury prevention features will we see a drastic increase of injuries from hypodermic needles ?
How might these reported incidents change in a pandemic age where there is more focus on keeping adequate stock of personal protective equipment like respirators and less on engineering controls for sharps injury prevention ?
Given overcrowding and careful management of capacity available for patients suffering with COVID-19 or flu and protecting workers from airborne infectious disease , might focus on preventing exposures to bloodborne pathogens falter ?
Given more focus than ever on worker health and safety in healthcare due to the global pandemic are we at continued risk of compromising worker safety for patient safety or will the tide change ? Will we continue to sacrifice , overwork , and under-resource our healthcare workforce or will the pandemic improve conditions ?
2020 Reflection
Yes , it has been 20 years since the passage of the NSPA and we celebrate that momentous occasion and yes , we are working through a global pandemic and we hope to see the light at the end of the tunnel in the coming months . 2020 has been wrought with ups and downs , challenges and opportunities , successes and failures and we must use what we have learned to make healthcare better and safer for those who work in it and those who access it .
Focus on COVID must not mean that we lose focus on sharps injuries that we can see and know how to prevent . Focus on PPE to prevent infectious disease exposures must not mean that we ignore what we know about the industrial hygiene hierarchy of controls and lose focus on the effectiveness of engineering controls and safe work practices . These include not only the use of devices with sharps injury prevention features like retracting needles and blades and suture-alternatives for skin closure , but safety feature activation , and responsible and safe disposal . This also includes shining a light on facilities , advocates , and manufacturers that get it right , work together , stay the course , and collaborate on developing and using the best devices to ensure the highest quality outcomes for workers and patients alike .
Amber Hogan Mitchell , DrPH , MPH , CPH , is currently president and executive director of the International Safety Center as well as the immediate past chair of the Occupational Health and Safety section of the American Public Health Association ( APHA ). Mitchell ’ s career has been focused on public health and occupational safety and health related to preventing infectious disease . She is also a senior science adviser for the NIEHS Worker Training Program for COVID-19 response . Mitchell holds an adjunct faculty position at the University of Maryland School of Medicine Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine . Mitchell has a new book available called Preventing Occupational Exposure to Infectious Disease in Health Care : A Practical Guide .
SUBMISSIONS WANTED
Healthcare Hygiene magazine invites infection prevention stakeholders from all aspects of prevention and control ( including IP / healthcare epidemiology , healthcare value analysis , quality / safety / risk management , surgical services , sterile processing , environmental services , biomedical engineering and scientific research ) to submit sciencedriven , best practice-based articles for consideration for publication . Please , no public relations pitches or articles with commercial overtones . Send your
queries to Kelly Pyrek at : kelly @ healthcarehygienemagazine . com
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