| Comment Record |
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Commentor |
Mrs. Julia Naunheim-Hipps |
Date/Time |
2002-08-19 23:19:49 |
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Organization |
Mrs. Julia Naunheim-Hipps |
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Category |
Health Professional |
| Comments for FDA General |
| Questions |
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1. General Comments
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To Mr. Timothy A. Ulatowski,
This comment is in response to needle safety and what more the FDA can do to prevent healthcare workers from being infected with HIV/HBV/HCV. The latest information on the reuse of bloodtube holders by OSHA has been an important step in prevention, however it has been my experience that healthcare facilities are not taking the Federal laws that was signed, the State laaws that have been passed or the OSHA guidleines seriously enough. I was infected with HCV after drawing blood from a patient in her home infected with HCV. We had been taught to reuse bloodtube holders from the time I entered nursing school. We were not supplied with adequate equipment from the time I began nursing in 1994. I think that the FDA should recall the products like BD vacutainer reusable bloodtube holders. It has been a violation for years but never really enforced. I have worked tirelessly with Federal, State and Local officials over the past 3 years while recovering from my infection in 1999. We have made great strides with the Federal bill that was passed, thanks to Karen Daley, RN infected with HCV and HIV, Lynda Arnold RN infected with HIV, Lisa Black infected with HCV and HIV and myself infected with HCV. We are only a small handful of healthcare workers infected that became political activists but the statistics are clear on the number of healthcare workers that have become infected but kept silent due the the nature of the infections we aquired.
I will contact you tomorrow to talk further. I assisted in Missouri Senate Bill 266, provided written testimony to the US Senate Judiciary Committee on April 30th, 2002, have been open and forthcoming about what happened to me and what I have had to pay as a result.
I look forward to talking to you soon.
Thank you for the opportunity to discuss this issue with the FDA
Julie Naunheim Hipps RN
#12 Highland PLace
St. Louis, Missouri 63122
314-966-1046
314-750-1077 cell
ourmamere@mindspring.com
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