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Biomedical Waste Plan Form - Sarasota County Health Department

I think that one of the most underrated hazards in medicine is that a bio hazardous waste a terrible thing for accidentally get HIV just being careless every one step is important because someone depends upon them making that right decision in order for others not to get injured I have a little toddler at home and I just really fear taking some kind of viral infection home to help Kyle I feel of dying and I guess everybody will proud of you that so we have to look for many different viruses different bacteria so we have not just a traumatic injury but a traumatic injury that carries the risk of life-threatening infection doctors medical staffs nurses Environmental Services employees anyone who comes into contact with biomedical waste harbors some type of fear about being infected with a human immunodeficiency virus HIV or hepatitis if you were exposed to the potentially infectious agents of biomedical waste even if you aren't found to be infected with HIV hepatitis or any other number of life-threatening diseases the mental anguish and worry can be almost unbearable listen to a nurse who was accidentally stuck with a needle and the worry she experienced while waiting for tests to determine if she was infected with either HIV or hepatitis and I just thought that my whole life was going to come to a screeching halt because I'm not was engaged to be married and I could see that just slipping away from me and never being able to have a family which was always something that was very important to me and my whole career could have ended and a screeching halt with one stick of a needle according to the nurse she did not contract an infectious disease what she says the mental anguish and anxiety were an unspeakable price to pay so what happens if you aren't so lucky what happens if you're infected with hepatitis B from improperly handled biomedical waste an epidemiologist for seven Florida Hospital says in that group with chronic active hepatitis a substantial number will go on to develop cirrhosis and die another smaller group will develop a para cellular carcinoma and died of cancer deliver what if it's the human immunodeficiency virus that you're infected with traditionally there's an eight-year period where the person is asymptomatic after that eight years they begin to feel poorly the life expectancy is around eleven years perhaps less under the Florida law and Administrative Code 64 E - 16 the Florida Department of Health has been given jurisdiction for regulating those who generate transport store or Treat biomedical waste this is one of the most effective thoughtful laws in the florida administrative code since implementation of this code my experience is epidemiologist at over seven hospitals is shown an 80% reduction in exposures to hazardous waste to help protect your health the health of your co-workers and the general public we present this video the management of biomedical waste under the Florida Administrative Code in this video today we'll examine the definition of biomedical waste we'll review segregation and containment will demonstrate the proper labeling procedures will cover transfer and storage of biomedical waste and finally we'll outline general policies for the development of a biomedical waste operating plan plus the training requirements needed for all personnel who handle biomedical waste as a part of their daily responsibilities remember this video and your training are of little value if you don't follow every rule and prescribe step for the proper management of biomedical waste every one step is important because someone depends upon them making that right decision in order for others not to get injured if they don't think it is important for themselves they should think it's important for the others that will may handle the trash bag or the sharps container after them under Rule 64 e - 16 of the Florida Administrative Code biomedical waste is defined as any solid or liquid which may present a threat of infection to humans some examples are non liquid tissue and body parts from humans and other primates laboratory waste blood and blood products body fluids or materials saturated with blood or blood products and discarded sharps all healthcare workers should take precaution to prevent injuries which may be caused by sharps sharps are defined as materials that are capable of puncturing lacerating or otherwise penetrating the skin and because there is this danger of puncturing the skin or penetrating the skin layer they need to be put into an approved sharps container needles and syringes with needles attached and contaminated hard plastic or glass objects that are broken are just some examples of sharps absorbent materials saturated with blood body fluids or excretions or secretions contaminated with blood our biomedical waste absorbent materials saturated with blood or blood products that have dried such as this gauze with dried blood from a surgical wound inside this young boy's ankle cast are also included your gauze your band-aid your cotton ball is a type of absorbent material that under the definition of the code would have to be saturated to be defined as biomedical waste the code also includes as biomedical ways to non-absorbent disposable devices such as this disposable plastic surgical drape being taken down by the nurse that have been contaminated with blood body fluids or blood contaminated secretions or excretions and have not been sterilized or disinfected by an approved method a non absorbent device would be a pair of gloves an IV - urine specimen cop if there was to have the secretions with the blood in it etc biomechanical waste must be segregated from other solid waste and placed into either a red bag or sharps container before it leaves the point of origin the point of origin for biomedical waste is defined as the room area or location where biomedical waste is actually produced some generators get confused here and think that they can carry uncontained biomedical waste out of the point of origin and to a red bag or sharps container elsewhere proper containment of biomedical waste at the point of origin reduces the risk of exposure every sharp needs to be contained an approved sharps container at the point of origin if the generator decides not to wall-mounted sharps container or sharps container on the counter to lead in the room then he or she may carry the sharps container into the room place the used syringe needle into the sharps container and then carry it out with them in this example the supervisor asked the Environmental Services employee not to put a red bag on a trash cart along with the regular solid waste she is taking extra precaution because she is aware that if the two are mixed and there is a leaking or ruptured red bag the entire waist load is contaminated and must then be managed as biomedical waste with the exception of sharps biomedical waste must be packaged in impermeable red polyethylene or polypropylene bags like the one with these IV tubes and other biomedical waste are being placed in each bag is to be constructed of poly chlorinated free filler plastics the bag must meet rigorous impact in tearing resistant standards to reduce the likelihood of rupture or tearing during handling sharps must be segregated from all other waste and put directly into a sharps container sharps containers must be designed primarily for the containment of sharps sharps containers must be leak resistant rigid and puncture resistant they must bear the appropriate phrase and the International biological hazard symbol it is extremely important not to overfill the sharps container a sharps container Lee generally the plastic sharps container have a designated fill line the reason for that is to minimize employee exposure and the chances of being stuck from needles or other types of sharps coming out of the container itself pressed fiber board sharps containers must also meet the above standards contaminated glass and plastic ware that are broken may at the discretion of the generator be placed in the double walled corrugated or solid fiber board sharps container however needles and scalpel blades are prohibited from being placed directly in the double walled corrugated or solid fiber board sharps containers biomedical waste can be stored at the generating facility for a period of up to 30 days the 30-day time period starts when the first non sharps item of biomedical waste is placed in a red bag or sharps container or when a sharps container with only sharps is fuller closed all indoor biomedical waste storage areas should be restricted what does restricted mean the definition of restricted that can either fall under one locked at all times to assign designating the restriction or three just the location itself the easiest way to satisfy this requirement of the code is to put some sign on a door whether it be authorized access employees only designating with the restriction the storage area should be constructed of smooth and easy to clean materials and the reason for this is so that if there is a biomedical waste spill and out of all the places for biomedical waste spill this is the highest probability of having a spill because you're bringing all of your waste to a storage area so you need to have it easily cleanable or disinfected if there were to be a spill therefore you cannot have carpeting in the area and even if it is constructed of cement you need to make sure the cement is sealed because cement itself is porous outdoor storage areas and containers are to be conspicuously marked with the International biological hazard symbol and must be secured against vandalism and unauthorized entry because an outdoor storage area is more easily accessible to the general public as opposed to indoor storage areas the presence of the symbol and security mechanism are required if a generator of biomedical waste has the waste transported away from the generating facility for treatment and disposal in all packages containing biomedical waste must be appropriately labeled the label provides a tracking mechanism for each package the label must be securely attached or permanently printed on each bag sharps container and outer container and must be clearly legible and easily readable exterior bags and sharps containers must show the generators name and address outer transport containers must show the transporters name address registration number and 24-hour telephone number it's important to remember that all exterior bags outer containers and sharps containers will be labeled at the generating facility prior to transport away from the facility the International biological hazard symbol in either red orange or black with a contrasting background color must appear on the outside of bags containers and sharps containers the symbol needs to have one of the following phrases with it biomedical waste biohazardous waste biohazard infectious waste or infectious substance the presence of the symbol and phrase point out the potential danger to anyone who comes into contact with the contents packages of biomedical waste must remain intact during transfer within the generating facility transporting the containers within the facility needs to be done in a way that is not going to compromise the package integrity in other words cause the bag to rip or split if this red bag of biomedical waste had ruptured while being dropped by this Environmental Services employee then it would have to be repackaged prior to transfer within the facility or transport away from the facility what happens if the drop bag in the indoor storage room splits and spills its contents or you spill biomedical wastes such as this vial of blood if in the packaging transfer or transport of biomedical waste any surfaces contaminated with spilled or leaked biomedical waste all such surfaces shall be decontaminated as a part of the cleaning process notice the decontaminating agent and waste are placed in a red bag which is tied and disposed of properly every generator of biomedical waste is required to maintain as a part of their biomedical waste operating plan a spill contingency plan for just such an occurrence it must identify the types of liquids that you're going to use to clean up a spill as well as how you're going to contain the materials that were used to clean up the spill many generators ask where am I supposed to keep the substance used to disinfect this spill generally a generator will keep at least bleach somewheres in the facility that they would use now whether this disinfected is kept on a housekeeping cart or in a nurse's station or in a storage closet that's up to the generator because it's not routinely used it's only used if there's a spill of biomedical waste in this case the generator keeps the bleach with a spill kit which contains clean up utensils absorbent materials and other items useful in spill containment and cleanup in the event that a generator contracts to have biomedical waste transported away from the generating facility for treatment the generator must sign such a contract with a biomedical waste transporter who is registered with the Florida Department of Health as you can see here the transporter is making certain the biomedical waste containers are appropriately sealed and then he is providing a pickup manifest showing the volume of biomedical waste picked up from the generator which happens to be a blood bank a generator may transport less than 25 pounds of their own biomedical waste in their own transport vehicle on any single occasion without being registered biomedical waste shall be treated by steam incineration are an alternative process approved by the Florida Department of Health alternative processes such as chemical dry heat or microwave shredding may be used by the generator provided the manufacturer has submitted a written request to the state health officer which includes microbiological evidence the proposed process provides a satisfactory level of disinfection against the organisms listed in the department's protocol all biomedical waste generators shall obtain a permit annually from the Florida Department of Health a copy of the permit shall be maintained within view in the facility or shall be made available for review by the department personnel the administrative staff of this hospital is reviewing the permit with a biomedical waste inspector from the state of Florida Department of Health if the generator generates less than 25 pounds of biomedical waste each 30 day period then the generator is exempt from this requirement if it is a new generator they required to purchase a current permit and then after a year of receipts when they can validate that they under are under 25 pounds of biomedical waste produced from their facility each month out of that year then they can file for an exemption the next permitting year every generator of biomedical waste must prepare maintain and implement a biomedical waste plan this plan must be a written plan providing for identification segregation packaging and storing of biomedical waste within their facility the plan must be updated when procedures change or the regulations are changed by the Florida Department of Health often generators have a plan but the plan has shortfalls common deficiencies the generator is telling us in their plan that they are segregating biomedical waste from other solid waste at the point of origin they don't tell us where points of origin are they don't tell us what types of containers they're segregating it in they don't tell us what type of storage area the location of the storage area where it is how specific does the plan have to be a good point to stress is that the generators should be able to read that plant and walk through the facility knowing where types of containers that are used and if they can't do that just on the paperwork and their plan is lacking some specific details large generators such as hospitals which have multiple specialty services shell as a part of their plan include plans that detail the procedures specific to that area of specialty every generator of biomedical waste must train all affected personnel in the proper management of biomedical waste this training program should be a part of the biomedical waste operating plan but all employees who handle medical waste must be trained in the code itself knowing how to handle labels segregate contain transport the biomedical waste the training must occur prior to commencing duties when a new employee is taken on staff so what is meant by prior to commencement of duties before they are actually handling the medical waste and the reason for that is so that they are trained in the proper containments because they are making the decision as to what exactly is a shock and if they haven't been trained as to what a sharp is they might not make the right decision all personnel who handled biomedical waste shall be given an annual refresher training session provided by the generator or by their designee all biomedical waste management records need to be maintained for three years at a time they must be made available for inspection by representatives from the Florida Department of Health Manifest for biomedical waste pickup should be kept on file today we've examined the definition of biomedical waste reviewed segregation and containment demonstrated the proper labeling procedures covered transferring storage of biomedical waste and finally we've outlined general policies for the development of an on-site biomedical waste plan and training for personnel who handled biomedical waste as a daily guide to your responsibilities in handling biomedical waste remember the words of the biomedical way coordinator on attitude and performance every one step is important because someone depends upon them making that right decision in order for others not to get injured if they don't think it is important for themselves they should think it's important for the others that will may handle the trash bag or the shock container after them you you you