Health Care Safety Policies

Health risks pervade the health care industry, which is why medical facilities are so concerned with safety policies. Having safety policies allows organizations to properly protect staff and patients by creating a hazard-free environment.

Needlestick Prevention

• Working with needles and sharps require staff to be extra careful and cautious. Accidental needlestick injuries expose employees to blood-borne pathogens such as hepatitis C. To avoid such injuries, health care organizations require needles and sharps to be discarded in a sharps container, not the garbage. Properly handling needles reduces health care workers' exposure to needlestick accidents.

PPE

• The proper personal protective equipment (PPE) must be worn when the job calls for it. Gloves, lab coats, lead smocks and face masks keep health care employees protected from exposure to patients' bodily fluids and airborne germs. PPE also protects workers from radiation exposure caused by X-rays and from direct contact with hazardous chemicals.

Hazardous Chemicals

• Health care facilities have safety policies for the handling and storing hazardous chemicals. According to OSHA, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, all hazardous chemical containers must be labeled "hazardous." Chemicals must be locked in an area that is inaccessible to patients. It is important that patients are not accidentally exposed to hazardous substances, or this will become a risk-management issue.