Essay On Bloodborne Pathogens
The Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens Standard
People who work in health care, first responders, correctional workers, dental workers, as well individuals who perform body art, are all at risk for having an occupational exposure to Bloodborne pathogens. According to OSHA, “Bloodborne pathogens are infectious microorganisms present in blood that can cause disease in humans” (United States Department of Labor/OSHA, n.d.). Healthcare workers that are primarily exposed when taking blood, to the worker who’s indirectly exposed when working in environmental services; consequently, we all need to know what the standards are and how we need to be protected. An incident could put a person at risk for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), that could result in AIDS, hepatitis virus B (HBV) and C (HCV) leaving you with lifelong …show more content…
As an administrator, I need to provide and use engineering controls by choosing safer medical devices and PPE, properly label infectious waste, annually immunize all at risk before exposure and update the exposure control plans as there are changes made, keep a sharps injury log, also maintain records pertaining to all the above. When Bloodborne pathogens are not contained/controlled, there could be the risk of a pandemic, similar to Ebola. In the same respect; the consequences for violating the Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Standard could be costly. Fines of up to $7.000 will be imposed if violations are other than serious, with a serious breach there is an automatic $7,000 fine. Willful violations carry penalties of up to $70,000 for each willful violation with a minimum of $5,000 (APSTA, n.d.). Repeat violators will be accessed $70,000 for each violation. Lastly, if a facility decides not to correct a prior violation they can incur $70,000 for each day it goes without
People who work in health care, first responders, correctional workers, dental workers, as well individuals who perform body art, are all at risk for having an occupational exposure to Bloodborne pathogens. According to OSHA, “Bloodborne pathogens are infectious microorganisms present in blood that can cause disease in humans” (United States Department of Labor/OSHA, n.d.). Healthcare workers that are primarily exposed when taking blood, to the worker who’s indirectly exposed when working in environmental services; consequently, we all need to know what the standards are and how we need to be protected. An incident could put a person at risk for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), that could result in AIDS, hepatitis virus B (HBV) and C (HCV) leaving you with lifelong …show more content…
As an administrator, I need to provide and use engineering controls by choosing safer medical devices and PPE, properly label infectious waste, annually immunize all at risk before exposure and update the exposure control plans as there are changes made, keep a sharps injury log, also maintain records pertaining to all the above. When Bloodborne pathogens are not contained/controlled, there could be the risk of a pandemic, similar to Ebola. In the same respect; the consequences for violating the Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Standard could be costly. Fines of up to $7.000 will be imposed if violations are other than serious, with a serious breach there is an automatic $7,000 fine. Willful violations carry penalties of up to $70,000 for each willful violation with a minimum of $5,000 (APSTA, n.d.). Repeat violators will be accessed $70,000 for each violation. Lastly, if a facility decides not to correct a prior violation they can incur $70,000 for each day it goes without