Feta Med is Proud to be Your Partner in Safety.

We have many products that will enhance a safe working environment such as Latex-Free Gloves, Eyeshields, Disinfectants and Hand Sanitizers.

See what 25 cents can buy and assess our revolutionary new BakSnap^® Safety Syringe. We help you pass your OSHA inspections with our Easy ECP Cookbook and save you 75% over the comparable BD product. BakSnaps look and feel like a non-safety syringe and feature BD sharps at 1/4 the cost of the BD Integra^® and 1/2 the bulky BD Eclipse^®

BakSnap Special!

Call Today for the BakSnap Free Evaluation Kit:

• BakSnap 1mm & 3mm Sample Pack
• OSHA Approved Evaluation Forms (Pdf 8k)
• Easy ECP (exposure control plan) Cookbook
• Free Shipping for First Order

NeedleStick Safety

Gloves

CaviWipes Are Effective Against:	Kill Time
• Mycobacterium tuberculosis var: bovis (BCG)	5 minutes
• Staphylococcus aureus	3 minutes
• Pseudomonas aeruginosa	3 minutes
• Salmonella choleraesuis	3 minutes
• Trichophyton mentagrophytes	3 minutes
• Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)	3 minutes
• Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE)	3 minutes
• Hepatitis B Virus (HBV)	3 minutes
• Herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2	3 minutes
• Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV-1)	2 minutes
• Canine parvovirus	3 minutes

 WipeOut TB and HBV!

 Specifically formulated for Cleaning and the control of cross-contamination *Virucidal (Hydrophilic & Lipophilic)    *Bactericidal *Fungicidal *Tuberculocidal. Cavicide is the most effective, ready-to-use, multi-purpose tuberculocidal broad spectrum solution for use on the surfaces of inanimate objects.’                                      

Cavicide is safe for use on medical/surgical equipment.  Its non-caustic formula is used to clean and disinfect such items as:  non-critical instruments, hoods, incubators and bassinets, operating room lights and tables, respiratory therapy and anesthesia equipment surfaces, laboratory surfaces and equipment, as well as other items that may be contaminated with infected bodily fluids.

Chemical Disinfectant

Cavicide

Surface Disinfectant/Decontaminant Cleaner

Cavicide 24 oz Spray           MX-1024        12 Spray bottles/Case     Also Available in      2.5, 55 Gallon Drums     & Towelette Tubs

Material Safety Data Sheets Always Available

Hand Hygiene

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LINKS

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)
EPInet
American Nurses Association (ANA)
America Hospital Association (AHA)
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
World Health Organization (WHO)
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
Needlestick

The BakSnap retractable safety syringe assures full compliance with HR- 5178, "The Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act“ with unequalled value, so you can relax when inspectors come to call!

You May Not Know These Statistics:

§ 600,000-1,000,000 Annual Health Care Worker (HCW) Needlestick Injuries

• Over 1,000 HCWs Contracted Infectious Diseases annually through  these Needlesticks
• 85% of Needlesticks Should be Eliminated through Safety Needle Use
• US Hospitals will SAVE $1 Billion Dollars through Safety Needle Implementation (Centers for Disease Control)

But You DO Know These:

§ $7,000 OSHA Fine per Hospital Department Violation

§ $70,000 OSHA Fines per Institution per Inspection

The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) expect hospitals will pay 3 to 10 times more for Safety Syringes and Still save a Billion Dollars in direct costs, not considering such hidden costs as lost productivity of valued professionals, declining staff moral, etc.

Until Now, if Hospitals want to provide their staff with Safety Syringes that feature:

• The Sharpest Needles
• The ability to “Change-Out”
• Zero Interference from Bulky Safety Caps and
• Little or no Change in Current Syringe Handling,

The $1 per syringe BD Integra was the only choice.

But now you do have a choice! The BakSnap Safety Syringe.

The BakSnap features BD needles on all its syringes (the sharpest in the business) at a price 20% below even the bulky BD Safety Glide, (the most sold Safety Syringe). The BakSnap has the look and feel of a non-safety syringe at a price that won’t break your budget, less than 30 cents with the needle included!

Easy Exposure Control Plan (ECP)

New for 2003: Annual Updating is Mandatory!

OSHA mandates a written ECP must be constructed by the institution detailing the strategy and processes involved in reducing exposure to blood and Other Potentially Infectious Materials (OPIM).

The major changes for 2003 include:

• ECP must be updated annually, even if no change has occurred.
• Employers must implement devices “appropriate, commercially available and effective”
• ECP must include input from non-managerial employees
• Train Employees on Hepatitis C and maintain a sharps injury log.

OSHA inspectors will seek out your ECP before proceeding with any other aspect of a routine inspection. A well prepared ECP will do much to put the inspectors in the right mood to approve your safety procedures. We at Feta Med, Inc. want you to pass every time!

These guidelines will assist you in the preparation of an effective ECP:

Steps:

• 1. Secure a large binder with several chapter dividers
• 2. Prepare an “Exposure Determination” of your facility
• 3. Include: Doctor, Nurse, Patient, Housekeeping, Laundry, and Medical Waste exposure analysis
• 4. Establish protocols for Communication of Hazards (such as labeling & training)
• 5. Establish protocols for reporting and evaluating an Exposure Incident
• 6. Establish post exposure procedures such as HBV, HIV vaccinations, etc.
• 7. List all safety devices used and considered for use
• 8. Document Safety, Suitability and Appropriateness for each item (Evaluation forms appended)
• 9. Describe methodology for determination of safety item preference: price , reliability, etc.
• 10. Solicit and document all employees’ opinions in setting the ECP
• 11. Document the Schedule of your ECP Implementation Plan throughout the facility
• 12. Make final ECP accessible to every employee, posit multiple copies if necessary
• 13. Revise every year, even if there are no changes
• 14. Never have “no changes”, technology changes all the time and OSHA expects vigilance
• 15. The OSHA Model ECP is available at: osha.gov/OshDoc/Directive_pdf/CPL_2-2_69_APPD.pdf (Address is case sensitive)

Document your facility’s efforts to improve safety throughout the year. Include commercial material, Sampled items, relevant journal articles, etc. OSHA will know you are a vigilant partner in reducing blood born infectious opportunities.

Remember, price is a factor but not an excuse. You must adopt safety products to fully comply with OSHA standards.

Feta Med will help you find the lowest cost/best designed products to satisfy your pocketbook  and OSHA.

Conservatively, based on products I've seen, (safety syringes) will now cost 78 cents to $2”           -Ed Leeds, director of materials management, Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center, Mission Viejo, Calif'ornia

Premier Researches Sharps Safety Devices

Wednesday
July 10, 2002

The first part of the study included 580 health care workers from 25 hospitals who evaluated approximately 17,275 phlebotomy devices

Users concluded the five most important performance considerations for devices were:

 Reliability of the safety feature;

 Ease of use;

 Being able to use existing containers for disposal;

 No interference with blood draws;

 Producing no risk of splash, leakage or blood drips

NOW...See What 25 Cents Can buy!

Links for Glove Safety and Performance Guidelines:

American Association of Occupational Health Nurses
American Chemical Society
American College of Surgeons
American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists
American Dental Association
American Health Consultants
American Industrial Hygiene Association
American Medical Association
American National Standards Institute
American Society of Safety Engineers
American Society for Testing & Materials (ASTM)
Association of Professionals in Infection Control
AORN Online
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Clinical Lab Management Association
Department of Health and Human Services
Food and Drug Administration
Health Industry Distributors Association
National Fire Protection Agency
National Institutes of Health
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
National Library of Medicine
National Society for Histotechnology
OSHA

Links for Glove Safety and Performance Guidelines

Resistance to Oils and Chemicals Table
Descriptions	Nitrile		Natural Rubber Latex
	Non-Swell	Durability	Non-Swell	Durability
Acetaldehyde	G	G	G	E
Formaldehyde	G	G	G	E
Acetic Acid	G	G	G	G
Lauric Acid	G	G	G	G
Acetonitrile	F	F	G	G
Aniline	F	F	G	G
Dimethylamine	F	F	G	G
Carbontetrachloride	G	G	F	F
Cholorobenzene	G	G	F	F
Perchloroethylene	G	G	F	F
Methylenechloride	G	G	F	F
DMSO	E	E	F	G
MEK	F	G	E	E
Ethy Acetate	G	F	G	G
Nitrobenzene	F	F	G	G
Benzene	F	F	P	P
Toluene	F	F	P	P
Styrene	F	F	P	P
THF	F	F	P	P
Ethyl Alcohol	G	E	G	E
Ethylene Glycol	G	E	G	E
Hexene	G	E	P	F
Kerosine	G	G	P	F
Gasoline	G	G	P	F
Terpin	G	E	F	E
Fish Oil	G	E	F	E
JIS Oil3	E	E	P	G
Nitric Asid	P	F	G	E
Sulfuric Asid	F	F	E	E
Chromic Asid mixture	E	G	E	G
Sodium	G	G	G	E
Sodium Hydroxide	G	G	G	E

E - Excellent

G - Good

F - Fair

P - Poor

Resistance to Oils and Chemicals Table

Glossary of Glove Terms (PDF 229k file)

Latex Sensitive?

Latex Sensitivity Questionaire

What About Double Gloving?

• AUTHOR:  Twomey, Carolyn
• (Clinical Nurse Consultant, Regent Medical)
• TITLE:   Does Double Gloving Double the Protection? A Look at the Issues   SOURCE:   Infection Control Today; May 2000; 4(5).

 

 

 

ABSTRACT:

 

Does Double Gloving Double the Protection? Yes, and then some.

 

The author raises the questions that customers sometimes ask about double gloving – why should one double glove, and is it effective? With increasing numbers of potential HIV, HBV and HCV exposures, health care workers now focus more on their personal safety issues, and personal barrier protection resides at the center of that focus.

 

Seroconversion rates (1:300 for HIV; 1:10 HBV; and 1:20 HCV) and a study showing a glove puncture rate of 11.5% provide good reasons to consider double gloving. As a result, using a double gloving system that also provides barrier breach indication augments traditional arguments for double gloving, because immediate identification of barrier breach enables surgical personnel to identify and react to barrier breaches. Unfortunately, most surgical gloves fail to provide immediate identification of glove breaches. For immediate identification of glove breaches, one company offers barrier breach indication gloves and several companies offer electronic glove breach indicators.

 

In addition, double gloving provides additional protection from common OR chemicals. As an example, bone cement permeates one manufacturer’s single – layer latex surgical gloves in 1.5 minutes. However, double gloving slows the breakthrough time to 9 minutes – a six-fold increase in protection time.

 

So, what about using thicker gloves? Studies show that wearing thicker gloves (such as single gloving with orthopedic gloves) provides less chemical protection than double gloving. Thicker gloves (worn as a single glove) also provide less protection from barrier breach than double gloving.

 

When all things are considered, double gloving with a barrier breach indication system offers more protection than single-layer glove against: barrier breach, skin contact with fluids passing through the breach, and chemical permeation.

 

Safety Links

A Guide to Hand-Hygiene Agents

By Deb Paul-Cheadle, RN, CIC

Waterless alcohol rubs have replaced soap and water as the leading recommended tool for hand disinfection, as stated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s revised Guideline for Hand Hygiene. This mindset change occurred after multiple studies showed that handwashing protocols bear no resemblance to what actually occurs in healthcare settings.

Education and re-education were thought to be the solution, but in all fairness to healthcare professionals, the reason we are not washing correctly is not due to a deficiency in knowledge. The time demand, inconvenience of repeated handwashing, a desire to prevent or not aggravate hand dermatitis, poor access to sinks or sinks that are blocked by patient equipment are usually the contributors to low rates of handwashing compliance.

Studies show that the time it takes to effectively degerm your hands with soap and water is between 10 and 60 seconds. It takes the active antimicrobial ingredients in soaps up to 60 seconds to destroy most organisms. The ideal duration for handwashing is not known. Handwashing for 15 seconds removes most transient organisms. If hands are visibly soiled, more time is required for handwashing. The observed average handwashing time is 7 to 10 seconds. This tells us that when you think your hands are clean, they are not. The beauty of the alcohol degermers is the time factor -- five seconds and 99 percent of the organisms on your hands are killed. This includes viruses. Alcohol rubs also provide improved access, as there is no need for sinks or water. Another perk is that the newer degermers have emollients that actually improve the skin, and after initial stinging, if used on hands with dermatitis and open cracks, significant improvement with actual clearing of problems can be achieved.

My experience with the waterless degermers began in 1999. We were looking for something other than soap that we could try on the hands of healthcare workers (HCW) complaining of dermatitis. We had 27 HCWs with significant dermatitis who were under the care of dermatologists. We had been unsuccessful with different soaps. The HCWs were each given an alcohol-based waterless degermer with emollients to use instead of soaps. Every HCW experienced dramatic improvement, with complete resolution of dermatitis and skin excoriation in 25 HCWs. The other two HCWs saw great improvement, but with underlying eczema, they continue to see their dermatologists for creams they only use when not working.

With this success in the healing of damaged hands, it was decided to trial the degermer in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Not only were the HCWs pleased, we also saw a reduction in babies with Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant Staph aureus (MRSA). It was decided to place the product at every isolette. Within the month, the MRSA population dropped to zero, with no recurrence. A study was also conducted to look at the cost of usage. Results showed an actual savings, as the cost of the product was far outweighed by the reduction in use of paper towels, lotions and waste management. Needless to say, the hospital implemented the product institution-wide. The only drawback was the minimal persistence the degermer provided, in comparison with antimicrobial products.

The following review provides an overview of how certain agents work, and what organisms they are active against. Once I understood the mechanisms of action, it became easy to embrace the revolution in hand hygiene that is taking place in the healthcare world today.

Alcohols

These are very effective antimicrobial agents. When used in concentrations greater than 61 percent, alcohols act by rapidly denaturating DNA, RNA and lipid biomolecules that are essential for microbial growth and development. Alcohol does not harm skin cells, as the body rapidly re-supplies intra-cellular water that is lost in denaturing. Alcohols are very effective against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, fungi, viruses, including hepatitis B and C, HIV, RSV, CMV, influenza and the herpes family. Alcohol application provides the fastest and greatest reduction in microbial counts on the skin, and bacterial resistance to alcohol is non-existent. Alcohol is considered to be the safest topical antiseptic to use.

Chlorehexidine Gluconate (CHG)

This agent works by disrupting cell membranes, which is why it is very important to rinse hands thoroughly after use. GHG is considered broad spectrum but it is not as effective against gram-negative bacteria. CHG has minimal action against Tubercule bacilli and mycobacterium species and it has a fair fungicidal action. CHG is effective against HIV, herpes, CMV and influenza. CHG is better at "sticking" to the skin, therefore providing persistence, but it is not as rapid or extensive as the alcohols. The activity of CHG is very pH dependent, (5.5-7.0). Bacterial resistance to CHG has been reported. Acute skin irritations, contact dermatitis, anaphylaxis from allergic reactions, Ototoxixity and corneal damage have been reported with CHG use, therefore, the FDA categorizes CHG containing formulations as drug products requiring formal approval.

Iodophors

Preparations containing iodine work by releasing free iodine into the interior of a microorganism, which causes toxic oxidation and substitution reactions within the cells. Iodine has a wide range of activity, including spores, gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, fungi, viruses and tuberculosis. It works rapidly, but has poor persistence. It is rapidly neutralized by blood and organic material. Iodine is generally considered a safe product, although skin irritation has been reported. The skin and mucous membranes can absorb iodine and iodophores. Induction of hypothyroidism in newborns has been documented. These products also need FDA approval.

Trizenol Technology Products

These are alcohol and zinc combinations. This combination provides persistence for hours after use. They can be used with or without water, and this capability makes the removal of surface dirt and organic material possible when needed. Trizenol products provide broad spectrum and rapid antimicrobial action (the same as alcohol, as this is the active ingredient), with excellent antimicrobial persistence (up to six hours). Emollients have been added to maintain skin integrity. These abilities make this an exciting breakthrough in hand hygiene. This product is classified as a cosmetic, and does not need FDA approval.

The CDC would like to see waterless degermers outside of every patient room. Fire marshals do not want to see it in the hallways. Safety department personnel have concerns regarding the product being in patient rooms. This has been an interesting dilemma, and we are working on solutions that are not cost prohibitive. Alcohol products that come in pocket-size containers are a convenient but expensive approach to this roadblock. The manufacturer is exploring the use of a fireproof wall mount.

The use of alcohol hand rubs is a fundamental change in the way hospitals comply with hand-hygiene imperatives. It is a change that will ultimately allow healthcare professionals to do the right thing more frequently. By making good hand hygiene easier, compliance rates will go up and infection rates will go down. The CDC has gone so far as to actually say, "Stop trying to get healthcare workers to wash their hands! Start giving them alcohol hand rubs."

Deb Paul Cheadle, RN, CIC, works in infection control for Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Mich.

                                   Safety is the Law,                   But it doesn’t have to be Expensive!