The ANA estimates only 15 percent of hospitals currently use safer sharps. One problem is they cost more, says Janice Toreki, an RN who is agency director for Lifeway Home Health in Austin. Cost is a problem throughout the industry, but particularly for providers of home health care services, where changes in reimbursement have hit hard. Toreki says many providers have downsized or gone out of business altogether. You have to balance the cost with the benefit.
Safety remains an important issue.
At Lifeway, several nurses have suffered sharps injuries this year. When you are in a patient environment, things are happening really fast. Maybe the patient is in cardiac arrest. Lifeway provides ongoing education for staff and has policies in place on what to do if a sharps injury happens. We have our state standards, and joint commission standards that we follow for procedures such as how to dispose of sharps.