Blood Borne Pathogens Standards

Blood Borne Pathogens Standards

1. Scope

These rules and regulations and the Exposure Control Plan are designed to meet the intent of Board policy EBBAB to comply with OR-OHSA standard(s) related to blood borne pathogens. The goal is to prevent severe health risks to employees by limiting exposure to blood borne pathogens and other communicable diseases.

1. Applicability

This documentis intended to provide a process and plan to prevent exposure to blood borne pathogens

1. Definitions
2. Blood: Human blood, human blood components and products made from human blood.
3. Blood Borne Pathogens: Pathogenic microorganisms that are present in human blood and can cause disease in humans. These pathogens include, but are not limited to, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
4. Contamination: The presence of reasonably anticipated presence of blood or other potentially infectious materials on an item or surface.
5. Contaminated Laundry: Laundry which has been soiled with blood or other potentially infectious materials or may contain sharps.
6. Contaminated Sharps: Any contaminated object that can penetrate the skin.
7. Decontamination: The use of physical or chemical means to remove, inactivate or destroy blood borne pathogens on a surface or item to the point where they are no longer capable of transmitting infectious particles and the surface or item is rendered safe for handling, use or disposal.
8. Exposure Incident: The specific eye, mouth, or other mucous membrane, nonintact skin or parenteral contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials that results in the performance of an employee’s duties.
9. Handwashing Facilities: A facility providing an adequate supply of running potable water, soap and single use towels or hot air drying machines.
10. Licensed Health-Care Professional: A person whose legally permitted scope of practice allows him/her to independently perform the activities required by hepatitis B vaccination and postexposure evaluation and follow up.
11. HBV: Hepatitis B virus.
12. HIV: Human immunodeficiency virus.
13. HCV: Hepatitis C virus
14. Occupational Exposure: Reasonable anticipated skin, eye, and mucous membrane or parenteral contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials that may result from the performance of an employee’s duties.
15. Other Potential Infectious Materials: Potentially infectious human body fluids include blood, semen, vaginal secretions, saliva in dental procedures, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, pericardial fluid, peritoneal fluid, amniotic fluid and all body fluids in situations where it is differentiate between body fluids and unfixed (nonintact) human tissue or cultures, or mediums which may contain any of the above.
16. Parenteral: Piercing mucous membranes or the skin barrier through such events as needle sticks, human bites, cuts and abrasions.
17. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Equipment and materials used for the safety of staff. These are outlined in 5.2.1.
18. Sharps Container: Disposal box for needles, syringes and sharp objects
19. Sterilize: The use of a physical or chemical procedure to destroy all microbial life including highly resistant bacterial endospores.
20. Universal Precautions: An approach to infection control built on the concept that all human blood and body fluids are treated as if known to be infectious for HIV, HBV and other blood borne pathogens.
21. Work Practice Controls: Controls that reduce the likelihood of exposure by altering the manner in which a task is performed (e.g., prohibiting recapping of needles by a two-handed technique).
    
22. Exposure Determination:
23. Job Classification – Potential Exposure Lists
24. Tier one - Classifications in which all employees are considered to have an “occupational exposure”:

●School Nurse

●Staff, including classified, who are first-aid providers (Teachers, Instructional Assistants)

●Custodians/Maintenance

4.1.2Tier two – Classifications in which some employees are thought to have “occupational exposure”:

●Administration

●Clerical or Administrative Assistants

●Teachers

●Instructional Assistants

●Other classroom positions

●Other special education staff

4.1.3Tasks and procedures in which occupational exposure may occur:

●Assisting with first aid

●Cleaning body fluid spills

●Administering injections/medications

●Handling contaminated laundry/materials

●Puncture from sharps

●Managing behavior – bites/broken skin

1. Exposure Control Plan:
2. Engineering/Workplace Practice Controls:
3. Universal precautions are required in each facility for all individuals requiring health assistance. All body fluids are treated as potentially infectious materials
4. Handwashing is required immediately after hands are soiled or gloves removed
5. When handwashing facilities are unavailable, antiseptic hand cleanser and clean towels are available for staff use
6. Guidelines are readily available for handling body fluids in a school setting
7. All sharps are properly used and are placed in biohazard sharp containers using the one-hand method
8. Personal hygiene, eating and storage of food in potential exposure areas are prohibited
9. Personal Protective Equipment: The Agency provides, at no cost to the employee, personal protective equipment for at-risk occupational exposure:
10. The equipment includes the following:

●Cleanup absorbent pack

●Disposable apron

●Disposable face mask/shield

●Disposable nitrile gloves

●Disposable shoe covers

●Disposable scoop and scraper

●Red biohazard plastic bags with ties

●Sanitize disinfectant wipe

●Disposable paper towels

●Towelette

5.2.2Housekeeping and Waste Management:

●All equipment and surfaces are cleaned and disinfected immediately after contact with blood or other potentially infectious material

●The following areas are cleaned and disinfected daily: restrooms, sinks, water fountains, diapering areas

●Special procedures are followed for disposal of laundry, garbage, glassware and any items contaminated by blood or body fluids

●Contaminated items will be disposed of in biohazard containers. Contaminated clothing and laundry will be cleaned and disposed of properly.

5.2.3Hepatitis B Vaccination Regulations:

●The HB vaccine (series of three injections) is offered to all staff who are required to provide first aid to students and/or for all staff who have occupational exposure as determined by the Agency.

5.2.4Plan for Post-Exposure Evaluation and Follow-up:

●If an employee sustains an exposure incident to blood or other designated body fluid, the exposure must be reported immediately to the designated administrator. The employee will be directed to seek an immediate confidential medical evaluation and follow-up related to the exposure incident.

5.3Employee Training:

5.3.1All staff are required to complete the annual training for blood borne pathogen training as provided by the Human Resource Department. Some staff may require additional training based on their level of exposure (school nurses).

5.3.2Record Keeping – All individual employee medical records dealing with blood borne pathogen exposure are required to be kept for 30 years beyond the date of employment termination. As medical records, these materials are kept separately from the employees’ personnel files. All medical records are kept confidential and are not disclosed or reported outside the workplace without the expressed written consent of the employee or to OR-OSHA upon request.

●Human Resources will maintain a “Sharps Injury Log” as required by OAR 437-002-1035 and 437-002-1030(3).

1. Associated Documents
2. Board Policy EBBAB/GBEBAA/JHCCBA – HBV/Blood Borne Pathogen
3. Exposure Determination by Job Classification and Task Descriptions

1. Revision History

Exposure Determination by Job Classification and Task Descriptions

“All” or “Some” employees in the following WESD employee job classifications have been determined to have “occupational exposure” to blood borne pathogen and other communicable disease. That is to say, they may have reasonably anticipated skin, eye, mucous membrane or parenteral contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials that may result from performance of an employee’s duties. The exposure determination was made without regard to the use of personal protective equipment.

Activities in Which Occupational Exposure May Occur:

• Assisting with first aid
• Cleaning body fluid spills
• Administering injections/medications
• Handling contaminated laundry/materials
• Puncture from sharps
• Managing behavior – bites/broken skin

OHSA’s definition for “potential infectious body fluids for possible exposure to blood borne pathogens: blood, semen, vaginal secretions, pleural fluid, pericardial fluid, synovial fluid, spinal fluid, saliva (in dental procedures or with visible blood), any body fluid that is visibly contaminated with blood, and body fluids where differentiation is impossible or difficult to determine.

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