Healthcare & Waste Disposal Workers: Dont Get Stuck!

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Incredibly, healthcare workers report suffering over one million injuries from conventional needles and “sharps” (e.g., syringes, scalpels) every year; with as many as five million needle-stick injuries gone unreported. These accidental exposures can have serious consequences, from the spread of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV, to more than twenty other infections that can be transmitted through needle-sticks.

According to the American Hospital Association, one case of serious infection by blood borne pathogens can add up to $1 million or more in expenditures for testing, lost time, and disability payments. And even when incidents do not result in infection, the cost of follow-up for a high-risk exposure can exceed $3,000 per needle-stick injury.

The issue of illegal dumping of contaminated medical waste also continues to plague communities throughout the world. According to The Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes and Human Retrovirology, 93% of needles are improperly discarded into common trash. That means nearly eight million contaminated needles and syringes enter the American waste stream in each and every day.

Fortunately, MedPro Safety Products, Inc., a Kentucky-based company, is pioneering injury protection technology that provides safe, simple, and cost effective solutions to reduce the risk of accidental needle-stick injury in the healthcare and waste management industries.

“We’re developing and commercializing products in four related areas: blood collection devices, syringes for the clinical healthcare market, intravenous devices, and pre-filled medicament safety delivery systems,” explains MedPro CEO and Chairman Craig Turner. “And each of our technologies are fully passive, meaning their safety mechanisms are automatically activated.”

Greiner Bio One is currently marketing the unique blood collection device called the Vacuette® Premium Safety Needle System, with “tube touch” and “skin touch” models. This system prevents the phlebotomist from drawing a patient’s blood without having engaged the safety system. Insertion of the first blood collection tube causes the safety shield to be automatically released. Once pulled out of the patient after blood collection, the needle is encapsulated and sheathed.

MedPro is currently developing other “passive” technology that will be introduced to the market soon. “These are the only products of their kind that can eliminate the chance of accidental needle-stick injuries to patients, physicians, and waste disposal contractors alike,” says Mr. Turner. For more information visit www.medprosafety.com.

IRG
Laura Colontrelle, 212-825-3210