The legislation extended standards for dealing with bloodborne pathogens in the workplace to state and local governments. It directed the TDH to develop rules modeled after the Occupational Safety and Health Act requirements. The TDH rules were adopted by the Board of Health and went into effect September 1, 2000. Governmental units must comply by January 1, 2001. As listed in the rules, governmental units would include, but not be limited to, local and regional health departments, hospital districts, city hospitals, county hospitals, hospital authority hospitals, state hospitals, Mental Heath and Mental Retardation state hospitals and state schools, community health mental retardation centers, Texas Youth Commission, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, local or state funded university student infirmaries, public school district clinics, emergency medical services, local or state funded long term care facilities, and blood banks.
Governmental units have several obligations under the new rules.
The TDH has developed a model ECP to provide a minimum standard to implement the rules. The ECP should be reviewed by employers for particular requirements as applicable to their specific situation. Modification of the plan by governmental units to suit their respective practice settings is appropriate. To develop effective, comprehensive ECPs, employers will need to include provisions relevant to their facility or organization. Determining risk for bloodborne pathogen exposures is done by evaluating the employee s job description.