[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 74 (Thursday, May 20, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1049-E1050]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT FOR THE HEALTH CARE WORKER NEEDLESTICK 
                             PREVENTION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 20, 1999

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join with my colleagues, 
Marge Roukema, George Miller, and Rob Andrews to introduce the Health 
Care Worker Needlestick Prevention Act, a bill to prevent dangerous, 
costly and preventable needlestick injuries to our nation's health care 
workers.
  For far too long, we have stood by and watched as health care workers 
suffer needlestick and sharps injuries in our nation's hospitals and 
health care system. According to a 1997 report by the Occupational 
Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), approximately 800,000 hospital-
based workers are injured annually from accidental needlesticks. Many 
of those injuries infections from bloodborne diseases, the worst of 
which include HIV/AIDS, and Hepatitis B & C.
  OSHA estimates that approximately 16,000 needlesticks are 
contaminated by the HIV/AIDS. As of December 1998, the Center for 
Disease Control (CDC) had documented 54 cases of HIV seroconversions 
from needlesticks and more than 110 ``possible'' cases among U.S. 
healthcare workers. In addition, according to the International Health 
Care Worker Safety Center at the University of Virginia, there are an 
estimated 18 to 35 new occupational HIV infections of health care 
workers occurring from accidental needlesticks each year.
  These injuries are largely preventable through use of newer 
technologies that use engineering devices to minimize accidental 
needlesticks. Hundreds of hospitals across the country have already 
converted to the use of these devices, but there are still thousands 
that haven't done so. Our legislation would make such safety devices 
the norm rather than the exception.
  The Health Care Worker Needlestick Prevention Act is modeled after a 
California state law. Last year, California became the first state in 
the nation to require needlestick protections. The legislation was 
signed into law by then-Governor Pete Wilson and was endorsed by a wide 
coalition including the California Health Care Association (the state 
hospital trade association), Kaiser Permanente, health care workers, 
and labor unions alike.
  The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal-
OSHA) has estimated that each needlestick injury costs between $2,234 
and $3,832 for treatment, testing, and prophylactic drugs. Cal-OSHA has 
also estimated that the California safe needles and sharps law, passed 
last year and effective this August, will save affected businesses and 
facilities over $100 million per year in excess of the cost of the new 
devices. Similar bills are now pending in state legislatures across the 
country.
  While states are stepping to the plate to address this pressing 
concern, this is a national crisis and it deserves a national solution. 
The Health Care Worker Needlestick Prevention Act would amend OSHA's 
bloodborne pathogens standard to require the use of safe needle 
technology as the means for preventing needlestick injuries. It is a 
real-life solution that recognizes that these technologies are still 
not available or appropriate for use in every situation. To that end, 
it includes an exception process if the device would interfere with 
patient or worker safety, interfere with the success of a medical 
procedure, or if no such device is available in the marketplace. It 
would also require stricter reporting of needlestick injuries and 
creates a new clearinghouse on safer needle technology within NIOSH 
(National Institute for Occuaptional Safety and Health) to collect the 
data and to assist employers with training curriculum and other advice 
on available technologies.
  We stand here today with broad-based support similar to that which 
made the California law possible. Our legislation is endorsed by 
numerous organizations including: the Service Employees International 
Union; the American Nurses Association; the American Federation of 
State, County and Municipal Employees; Kaiser Permanente; The Consumer 
Federation of America; Becton Dickinson, a major medical device 
manufacturer; and the Emergency Nurses Association, the American Public 
Health Association, and AIDS Action.
  It is time to take the appropriate step of protecting our health care 
workers. They simply should not be forced to risk their lives while 
trying to save ours.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to especially thank Congresswoman Roukema for her 
leadership on this issue and urge my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle to join us in support of this crucial effort.
  Attached is a more detailed summary of the bill.

 Health Care Worker Needlestick Prevention Act of 1999, Introduced by 
                   Reps. Pete Stark and Marge Roukema


                              Bill Summary

       Purpose: This bill would correct a dangerous problem in 
     today's health care system in which health care workers 
     suffer preventable needlestick injuries because appropriate 
     technologies to prevent such injuries are not being utilized.
       The bill would require the use of engineered safety 
     mechanisms for needles and sharps in the health care arena to 
     protect health care workers from life-threatening injuries 
     caused by needlesticks and other sharps injuries.
       OSHA Amendment: The bill amends OSHA's bloodborne pathogens 
     standard to require that employers utilize needleless systems 
     and sharps with engineered sharps protections to prevent the 
     spread of bloodborne pathogens in their workplace.
       In carrying out this requirement, employers are to work 
     with direct care health care workers who use such devices to 
     ensure the appropriate selection of technology.
       Exceptions: Safe needle technology will not be immediately, 
     universally available and appropriate for all uses in the 
     health care arena. Recognizing this fact, the bill provides 
     for an exceptions process if an employer can demonstrate 
     circumstances in which the technology: Does not promote 
     employee safety; interferes with patient safety; interferes 
     with the success of a medical procedure; and is not 
     commercially available in the marketplace.
       Exposure Control Plan: Employers would develop written 
     exposure control plans to identify and select existing 
     needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps 
     protections and other methods of preventing the spread of 
     bloodborne pathogens.
       Sharps Injury Log: While we know that more than 800,000 
     health care workers suffer needlesticks every year, there is 
     currently no uniform collection of data on sharps injuries to 
     enable these incidents to be tracked, learned from, and 
     prevented.
       The bill would create a sharps injury log that employers 
     would keep containing detailed information about any sharps 
     injuries that occur.
       Training: Employers would be required to adequately train 
     direct care health care workers on the use of needleless 
     technologies and systems with engineered sharps protections.
       National Clearinghouse on Safer Needle Technology: The bill 
     would establish a new clearinghouse within the National 
     Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to 
     collect data on engineered safety technology designed to help 
     prevent the risk of needlesticks and other sharps injuries. 
     NIOSH would have access to the sharps injury logs in order to 
     carry out these duties. The clearinghouse would also create 
     model training curriculum for employers and health care 
     workers. In order to carry out these new tasks, the institute 
     is authorized $15 million in new funding.
       Application to Medicare Hospitals: HHS would promulgate new 
     regulations regarding conditions of participation in Medicare 
     for those hospitals that are not covered by OSHA so that all 
     hospitals across the country would, in effect, be covered by 
     these new bloodborne pathogens requirements.


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