House Bill 0047

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                  HB 47

        By Representative Kosmas






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to safety standards for public

  3         health care employees; providing definitions;

  4         requiring that the Department of Health adopt a

  5         blood-borne-pathogen standard for public

  6         employees; requiring the use of needleless

  7         systems and sharps with engineered sharps

  8         injury protection; requiring that incidents of

  9         exposure be recorded in a sharps injury log;

10         specifying the information to be included in

11         the sharps injury log; authorizing the

12         Department of Health to include additional

13         requirements as part of the

14         blood-borne-pathogen standard; requiring that

15         the department compile a list of needleless

16         systems and sharps with engineered sharps

17         injury protection to assist employers in

18         complying with the department's standard;

19         providing an effective date.

20

21  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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23         Section 1.  (1)  As used in this section, the term:

24         (a)  "Blood-borne pathogens" means pathogenic

25  microorganisms that are present in human blood and that can

26  cause disease in humans, including, but not limited to,

27  hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and human

28  immunodeficiency virus.

29         (b)  "Engineered sharps injury protection" means:

30         1.  A physical attribute built into a needle device

31  used for withdrawing body fluids, accessing a vein or artery,

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                  HB 47

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  1  or administering medications or other fluids which effectively

  2  reduces the risk of an exposure incident by a mechanism such

  3  as barrier creation, blunting, encapsulation, withdrawal,

  4  retraction, destruction, or other effective mechanisms; or

  5         2.  A physical attribute built into any other type of

  6  needle device, or into a non-needle sharp, which effectively

  7  reduces the risk of an exposure incident.

  8         (c)  "Needleless system" means a device that does not

  9  use needles for:

10         1.  The withdrawal of body fluids after initial venous

11  or arterial access is established.

12         2.  The administration of medication or fluids.

13         3.  Any other procedure that involves the potential for

14  an exposure incident.

15         (d)  "Public employer" means any employer that employs

16  public employees who have occupational exposure to blood or

17  other material that potentially contains blood-borne

18  pathogens.

19         (e)  "Public employee" means an employee of the state

20  or a political subdivision of the state who is employed in a

21  health care facility, home health care organization, or other

22  facility that provides health care services.

23         (f)  "Sharp" means any object used or encountered in a

24  health care setting which can be reasonably anticipated to

25  penetrate the skin or any other part of the body and to result

26  in an exposure incident, including, but not limited to, needle

27  devices, scalpels, lancets, broken glass, broken capillary

28  tubes, exposed ends of dental wires, dental knives, drills,

29  and burs.

30         (2)  The Department of Health shall adopt a

31  blood-borne-pathogen standard governing public employees. The

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                  HB 47

    582-114A-00






  1  standard must be at least as stringent as the standard adopted

  2  by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration

  3  and must include, but need not be limited to:

  4         (a)  A requirement that needleless systems be

  5  implemented and that sharps with engineered sharps injury

  6  protection be used in all facilities that employ public

  7  employees, except in cases where an evaluation committee,

  8  established by the public employer and consisting of a

  9  majority of health care workers, determines by means of an

10  objective evaluation of products that the use of such devices

11  will jeopardize the safety of patients or employees with

12  respect to a specific medical procedure.

13         (b)  A requirement that information concerning

14  incidents of exposure be recorded in a sharps injury log that

15  includes, but need not be limited to:

16         1.  The date and time of the exposure incident.

17         2.  The type and brand of sharp involved in the

18  exposure incident.

19         3.  A description of the exposure incident, which must

20  include:

21         a.  The job classification of the exposed employee.

22         b.  The department or work area where the exposure

23  incident occurred.

24         c.  The procedure that the exposed employee was

25  performing at the time of the incident.

26         d.  How the incident occurred.

27         e.  The body part involved in the exposure incident.

28         f.  If the sharp had engineered sharps injury

29  protection, whether the protective mechanism was activated,

30  and whether the injury occurred before the protective

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                  HB 47

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  1  mechanism was activated, during activation of the mechanism,

  2  or after activation of the mechanism, if applicable.

  3         g.  If the sharp did not have a form of engineered

  4  sharps injury protection, the injured employee's opinion as to

  5  whether and how such a mechanism could have prevented the

  6  injury, as well as the basis for the opinion.

  7         h.  The employee's opinion about whether any other

  8  engineering, administrative procedure, or work practice could

  9  have prevented the injury, as well as the basis for the

10  opinion.

11         (3)  The Department of Health shall consider additional

12  requirements as part of the blood-borne-pathogen standard in

13  order to prevent sharps injuries or exposure incidents,

14  including, but not limited to, training and educational

15  requirements, measures to increase vaccinations, strategic

16  placement of sharps containers as close to the work area as

17  practical, and increased use of personal protective equipment.

18         (4)  The Department of Health shall compile and

19  maintain a list of existing needleless systems and sharps with

20  engineered sharps injury protection, which shall be available

21  to assist public employers in complying with the requirements

22  of the blood-borne-pathogen standard adopted under this

23  section. The list may be developed from existing sources of

24  information, including, but not limited to, the federal Food

25  and Drug Administration, the federal Centers for Disease

26  Control and Prevention, the federal Occupational Safety and

27  Health Administration, and the United States Department of

28  Veterans Affairs.

29         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                  HB 47

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  2                          HOUSE SUMMARY

  3
      Requires the Department of Health to adopt a
  4    blood-borne-pathogen standard for health care employees
      employed by the state or a political subdivision of the
  5    state. Requires that the standard include the use of
      needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps
  6    injury protection. Requires that incidents of exposure be
      recorded in a sharps injury log. Authorizes the
  7    Department of Health to include additional requirements
      in the blood-borne-pathogen standard. See bill for
  8    details.

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