One
needle, One syringe, Only ONE Time
Healthcare
Coalition Launches New Training Video
to halt spread of infections and
address a serious public health problem
ATLANTA, May 26, 2010 – To help
healthcare workers improve patient safety, the Safe
Injection Practices Coalition (SIPC) is launching a new
educational video for U.S. healthcare providers that is a straight to the point
ten minute lesson on safe injection practices.
The
video is targeted to healthcare providers who regularly administer or supervise
injections and is about their responsibility to protect patients from
healthcare-associated infections. The video is based on evidence-based and common sense
safe injection practices from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC).
Recent outbreaks and patient notifications show the need for continued training
about unsafe injection practices.
The 10-minute video promotes safe
injection practices by showing healthcare providers working in situations where
injections are given. By dispelling common misperceptions, such as the belief
that it is safe to administer medication from single-dose vials to multiple
patients, the video discusses basic, evidence-based precautions, that must be
used at all times to protect patients and prevent disease transmission due to
unsafe injection practices.
“One infection due to unsafe injection
practices is unacceptable,” says Dr. Michael Bell, deputy director for infection
control at CDC and narrator of the video. “Every healthcare provider has the
responsibility to ensure that all injections given to patients are safe, and we
hope that this video will help make that happen.”
Dr. Evelyn McKnight, Au.D.,
president and co-founder of the Hepatitis Outbreaks National Organization for
Reform (HONOReform) Foundation, and a Coalition member who is featured in the
video, was battling a recurrence of breast cancer when she became one of 99
Nebraska cancer patients to be infected with hepatitis C virus because her
healthcare providers reused syringes to access a shared bag of saline.
“By addressing the urgent need for education
and heightened awareness about safe injection practices, we hope to avoid
further tragedies,” says McKnight. “Through this and other Coalition-led
educational activities, we hope to make outbreaks due to syringe reuse ‘never’
events. No patient should ever have to worry about contracting a disease while
seeking medical care or treatment.”
The
video is part of the One & Only Campaign, a national public health
education and awareness initiative developed by the SIPC. SIPC is comprised of
patient advocacy organizations, foundations, provider associations and industry
partners, together with CDC, and has united to halt disease transmission caused
by unsafe injection practices in United States healthcare facilities. The campaign name refers to the importance of
healthcare personnel using “one needle, one syringe, only one time” to protect
patients from bloodborne viruses and other pathogens.
Toll
of Unsafe Injection Practices
Since 1999, more than 125,000
Americans have received letters alerting them of potential exposure to
infection with hepatitis viruses or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) due to
unsafe injection practices such as the reuse of syringes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC).
“Safe
injection practices must be reinforced by providers and patients, and the One & Only Campaign video is a great
way for all of us to teach and learn,” said Steve Langan, Executive Director of
HONOReform Foundation. “Infections
caused by the reuse of medical equipment have caused great damage throughout
the United States, and we are working together to make this a national campaign
and prevent these outbreaks.”
A
lack of understanding of and adherence to safe injection practices by
healthcare personnel has resulted in more than 30 outbreaks of viral hepatitis
and other healthcare-associated infections in the United States since 1999.
Most of these outbreaks and infections occurred in non-hospital healthcare
facilities, according to the CDC. A
patient notification resulting from unsafe injection practices at an endoscopy
clinic in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2008 required health officials to alert more
than 50,000 patients who had been potentially exposed to bloodborne
viruses.
In
addition to the toll on physical and emotional health, these outbreaks are
costly. The patient notification, response and testing of the hepatitis C
outbreak at the Las Vegas, Nevada endoscopy clinic is estimated to have cost
between $16 million and $21 million.
The
video can be viewed at the One & Only Campaign Web site, www.oneandonlycampaign.org.
About
the Safe Injection Practices Coalition
Founded in June 2008, the Safe
Injection Practices Coalition is comprised of patient advocacy organizations,
foundations, provider associations, industry partners and the CDC united to
halt unsafe injection practices. The
Coalition focuses its efforts on advancing and promoting safe injection
practices by way of informing and educating healthcare professionals and the
public, especially in outpatient settings. Issues of particular concern include
the reuse of syringes and misuse of single-use and multi-dose vials. In
addition to creating and distributing the Safe Injection Practices Video for
Healthcare Providers, the Coalition has launched pilot campaigns promoting safe
injection practices in Nevada and New York, two states in which disease
outbreaks have occurred.
Coalition partners include the
following organizations: Accreditation
Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC), Ambulatory Surgery Foundation,
American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA), Association for Professionals in Infection
Control and Epidemiology, Inc. (APIC), BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company),
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), CDC Foundation, Covidien,
Hospira, HONOReform Foundation, National Association of County & City
Health Officials (NACCHO), Nebraska Medical Association (NMA), Nevada State
Medical Association (NSMA), and Premier healthcare alliance.
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Media Contact:
Steve Langan, HONOReform
Foundation, steve@HONOReform.org,
402.659.6343