Senate Bill 0222c1
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Florida Senate - 2000 CS for SB 222
By the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Productivity;
and Senator Dyer
302-1879-00
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 Labor and
5 Employment Security adopt a
6 blood-borne-pathogen standard for public
7 employees; requiring the use of needleless
8 systems and sharps with engineered
9 sharps-injury protection; requiring that
10 incidents of exposure be recorded in a
11 sharps-injury log; specifying the information
12 to be included in the sharps-injury log;
13 authorizing the Department of Labor and
14 Employment Security to include additional
15 requirements as part of the
16 blood-borne-pathogen standard; requiring that
17 the department compile a list of needleless
18 systems and sharps with engineered
19 sharps-injury protection to assist employers in
20 complying with the department's standard;
21 providing a declaration of an important state
22 interest; providing an effective date.
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24 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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26 Section 1. (1) As used in this section, the term:
27 (a) "Blood-borne pathogens" means pathogenic
28 microorganisms that are present in human blood and that can
29 cause disease in humans, including, but not limited to,
30 hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and human
31 immunodeficiency virus.
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1 (b) "Engineered sharps-injury protection" means:
2 1. A physical attribute built into or used with a
3 needle device used for withdrawing body fluids, accessing a
4 vein or artery, or administering medications or other fluids
5 which effectively reduces the risk of an exposure incident by
6 a mechanism such as barrier creation, blunting, encapsulation,
7 withdrawal, retraction, destruction, or other effective
8 mechanisms; or
9 2. A physical attribute built into or used with any
10 other type of needle device, or into a nonneedle sharp, which
11 effectively reduces the risk of an exposure incident.
12 (c) "Needleless system" means a device that does not
13 use needles for:
14 1. The withdrawal of body fluids after initial venous
15 or arterial access is established.
16 2. The administration of medication or fluids.
17 3. Any other procedure that involves the potential for
18 an exposure incident.
19 (d) "Public employer" means any employer that employs
20 public employees who have occupational exposure to blood or
21 other material that potentially contains blood-borne
22 pathogens.
23 (e) "Public employee" means an employee of the state
24 or a political subdivision of the state who is employed in a
25 health care facility, home health care organization, or other
26 facility that provides health care services.
27 (f) "Sharp" means any object used or encountered in a
28 health care setting which can be reasonably anticipated to
29 penetrate the skin or any other part of the body and to result
30 in an exposure incident, including, but not limited to, needle
31 devices, scalpels, lancets, broken glass, broken capillary
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Florida Senate - 2000 CS for SB 222
302-1879-00
1 tubes, exposed ends of dental wires, dental knives, drills,
2 and burs.
3 (2) The Department of Labor and Employment Security
4 shall adopt a blood-borne-pathogen standard governing public
5 employees. The standard must be at least as stringent as the
6 standard adopted by the federal Occupational Safety and Health
7 Administration and must include, but need not be limited to:
8 (a) A requirement that needleless systems be
9 implemented and that sharps with engineered sharps-injury
10 protection be used in all facilities that employ public
11 employees, except in cases where an evaluation committee,
12 established by the public employer and consisting of a
13 majority of health care workers that provide direct patient
14 care, determines by means of an objective evaluation of
15 products that the use of such devices will jeopardize the
16 safety of patients or employees with respect to a specific
17 medical procedure.
18 (b) A requirement that information concerning
19 incidents of exposure be recorded in a sharps injury log that
20 includes, but need not be limited to:
21 1. The date and time of the exposure incident.
22 2. The type and brand of sharp involved in the
23 exposure incident.
24 3. A description of the exposure incident, which must
25 include:
26 a. The job classification of the exposed employee.
27 b. The department or work area where the exposure
28 incident occurred.
29 c. The procedure that the exposed employee was
30 performing at the time of the incident.
31 d. How the incident occurred.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2000 CS for SB 222
302-1879-00
1 e. The body part involved in the exposure incident.
2 f. If the sharp had engineered sharps-injury
3 protection, whether the protective mechanism was activated and
4 whether the injury occurred before the protective mechanism
5 was activated, during activation of the mechanism, or after
6 activation of the mechanism, if applicable.
7 g. If the sharp did not have a form of engineered
8 sharps-injury protection, the injured employee's opinion as to
9 whether and how such a mechanism could have prevented the
10 injury, as well as the basis for the opinion.
11 h. The employee's opinion about whether any other
12 engineering, administrative procedure, or work practice could
13 have prevented the injury, as well as the basis for the
14 opinion.
15 (3) The standards adopted under paragraph (2)(a) may
16 not prohibit the use of a pre-filled syringe that is approved
17 by the federal Food and Drug Administration. This subsection
18 expires May 1, 2003.
19 (4) The Department of Labor and Employment Security
20 shall consider additional requirements as part of the
21 blood-borne-pathogen standard in order to prevent sharps
22 injuries or exposure incidents, including, but not limited to,
23 training and educational requirements, measures to increase
24 vaccinations, strategic placement of sharps containers as
25 close to the work area as practical, and increased use of
26 personal protective equipment.
27 (5) The Department of Labor and Employment Security
28 shall compile and maintain a list of existing needleless
29 systems and sharps with engineered sharps-injury protection,
30 which shall be available to assist public employers in
31 complying with the requirements of the blood-borne-pathogen
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1 standard adopted under this section. The list may be developed
2 from existing sources of information, including, but not
3 limited to, the federal Food and Drug Administration, the
4 federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the
5 federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the
6 United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
7 Section 2. The Legislature declares that the
8 provisions of this act fulfill an important state interest due
9 to the benefits of the prevention of communicable diseases.
10 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.
11
12 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
13 SB 222
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15 Substitutes the Department of Labor and Employment Security
for the Department of Health.
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Clarifies that standards adopted by the department are not to
17 prohibit the use of a pre-filled syringe that is approved by
the Federal Food and Drug Administration.
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Modifies the definition of "engineered sharps-injury
19 protection" to include a physical attribute built into or used
with a needle device.
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Provides that the evaluation committee must be composed of
21 health care workers who provide direct patient care.
22 Contains a statement declaring that the act fulfills an
important state interest by preventing communicable diseases.
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