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GLOBAL NEEDLESTICK PREVENTION GROUP GROWS WITH ADDITION OF THREE SAFETY PRODUCT LEADERS
Added: (Wed Jan 09 2002)
NEEDLESTICK PREVENTION GROUP GROWS WITH ADDITION OF THREE SAFETY PRODUCT LEADERS
SOUTH JORDAN, Utah - Hiroshi, a waste-disposal technician, was assigned to a Tokyo-based university hospital. While collecting waste at the hospital, he was accidentally pricked by a contaminated needle. Months later, as his health deteriorated, he went to the hospital for treatment. He was diagnosed with HIV and died soon after.
Steve, a driver at a home infusion company, stuck himself with a needle when removing trash bags from a home. The drivers were taught to hold the trash bag with elbows locked to keep bags at arm's length. That way, the bag couldn't swing and the contents accidentally stick the driver. As Steve took the bag outside, a gust of wind hit the storm door, knocking it into his thigh. A needle left in the bag stuck him in the leg.
“Unfortunately, these are not isolated incidents”, said Ron Stoker, Executive Director and founder of ISIPS, the International Sharps Injury Prevention Society. “Each year, many people are seriously injured from contact with improperly discarded needles in hospital or household trash. It is critical that safer technologies be adopted to protect health care workers and others from these avoidable injuries. ISIPS is committed to provide education about the variety of sharps safety products and services that are currently available to reduce this global challenge."
Needlestick injuries can be eliminated by using needles that sheath or retract into the barrel, by incinerating the needle at the point of use, or by disposal in an approved sharps container. These products can reduce the risk of injury not only to healthcare workers but to housekeeping and medical waste disposal staff as well.
ISIPS is an international group of medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers, health organizations, healthcare professionals, medical waste disposal experts and others joining forces to provide education, information, and product knowledge that will help reduce the number of sharps injuries that occur each year.
ISIPS welcomes three new corporate members who are leaders in the safety product industry: DeRoyal, New Medical Technology, and Portex, Inc.
DeRoyal, a leading medical manufacturing company in the surgical safety field, offers a line of 17 safety products for the O.R. The DeRoyal products that specifically address the issue of sharps safety include: Safety Scalpels, Scalpel Blade Remover, ScrubSafe™, SutureMate®, the Needle Cap Caddie, Magnetic and Non-Magnetic Instrument Pads, Skin Staplers, a Skin Staple Remover, Safety Strainers and the DeBlade™ Blade Removal System. For more information call 800-251-9864, or access www.deroyal.com.
New Medical Technology’s develops products that are cost effective, easy to use, and which provide a high degree of protection for the healthcare community against the everyday hazards in their environment. The NMT Safety Syringe uses an automatic retraction technology that is activated as the user depresses the plunger to inject the medication. Importantly, the user's hands remain behind the needle at all times. The safety feature is activated without manipulating any external components or engaging in additional steps and, once used, the device cannot be rebuilt or reused. Finally, the needle is safely stored in the barrel after use, virtually eliminating needlestick injury. The NMT Safety Syringe is available in 3cc and 1cc sizes. For more information, call 800 522-1512, or access www.newmedicaltechnology.com.
Portex, Inc. has been a leader in the prevention of bloodborne pathogens exposure and needlestick protection for more than ten years. Portex offers a comprehensive line of Needle-ProÒ needle protection devices for hypodermic injections, venous and arterial blood sampling applications. Needle-ProÒ devices provide simple, one-handed, cost effective protection from accidental needlesticks with a universal design that facilitates institutional compliance. In addition, Portex offers the Point-LokÒ device as a needle protection solution for specialized needles as well as a complete line of SharpsafeÒ Sharps biohazardous disposal containers. For more information, call (800) 258-5361, or access www.portexusa.com.
"We extend an invitation to medical and pharmaceutical device manufacturers around the globe to join with us in providing a one-stop shop for healthcare workers who are looking for best-of-breed products to reduce sharps injuries," said Stoker. “Alternate technologies are available to reduce needlestick and other sharps injuries.”
Other ISIPS corporate members include:
- Porex Medical, 909.390.9080, http://www.porex.com
- Amsino, 800.632.6746, http://www.amsino.com/
- Medamicus, (NASDAQ: MEDM), 800.559.2613, http://www.medamicus.com
- Bio-Plexus ,860.870.6112, (Pink Sheets: BPXS), http://www.bio-plexus.com/
- SuturTek Incorporated 978.251.8088, http://www.suturtek.com
- Biomedical Disposal, Inc., 888.393.9595, http://www.biodisposal.com
- Becton Dickinson ,201.847.6800, (NYSE: BDX) http://www.bd.com/safety/
- Inviro Medical Devices, Inc., 604.681.9399, http://www.inviromedical.com
- B. Braun Medical, Inc. ,800.523.9676, http://www.bbraunusa.com/
- Greiner Bio-One (www.greiner-bio-one.com) Phone: +43 7583 6791-0
- The Immunization Branch of the California - Department of Health Services (510) 540-2067 (http://www.cdlhn.com)
To find out how to join, or for more information on ISIPS, call 801-280-8797 or access www.ISIPS.org.
CONTACT: ISIPS | Ron Stoker, 801-280-8797| info@isips.org