The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall
have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Blood--Human blood, human blood components, and
products made from human blood.
(2) Bloodborne pathogens--Pathogenic microorganisms
that are present in human blood and that can cause diseases in humans,
and include:
(A) hepatitis B virus (HBV);
(B) hepatitis C virus (HCV); and
(C) human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
(3) Contaminated--The presence or reasonably anticipated
presence of blood or other potentially infectious material on an item
or surface.
(4) Contaminated equipment--Any equipment used in the
workplace that has been soiled with blood or other potentially infectious
materials on an item or surface.
(5) Contaminated sharps injury--Any sharps injury that
occurs with a sharp used or encountered in a health care setting that
is contaminated with human blood or body fluids.
(6) Device--An instrument, apparatus, implement, machine,
contrivance, implant, in vitro reagent, or other similar or related
article, including any component, part, or accessory that is:
(A) recognized in the official United States Pharmacopoeia
National Formulary or any supplement to it;
(B) intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or
other conditions, or in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention
of disease in man or other animals; or
(C) intended to affect the structure or any function
of the body of man or other animals and that does not achieve any
of its principal intended purposes through chemical action within
or on the body of man or other animals and is not dependent on metabolization
for the achievement of any of its principal intended purposes.
(7) Employee--An individual who works for a governmental
unit or on premises owned or operated by a governmental unit whether
or not he or she is directly compensated by the governmental unit.
(8) Employs--Engages the services of employees.
(9) Engineered sharps injury protection--A physical
attribute that:
(A) is built into a needle device used for withdrawing
body fluids, accessing a vein or artery, or administering medications
or other fluids and that effectively reduces the risk of an exposure
incident by a mechanism, such as barrier creation, blunting, encapsulation,
withdrawal, retraction, destruction, or another effective mechanism;
or
(B) is built into any other type of needle device,
into a nonneedle sharp, or into a nonneedle infusion safety securement
device that effectively reduces the risk of an exposure incident.
(10) Exposure incident--Eye, mouth, other mucous membrane,
non-intact skin, or parenteral contact with blood or other potentially
infectious materials that results from the performance of an employee's
duties.
(11) Governmental unit--This state and any agency of
the state, including a division, section, unit, branch, department,
bureau, board, commission, or office and includes:
(A) a political subdivision of this state, including
any municipality, county, or special district; or
(B) any other institution of government, including
an institution of higher education.
(12) Hepatitis B virus (HBV)--A virus that may be contracted
through exposure to blood and/or body fluids and can result in chronic
liver disease, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular (liver) cancer.
(13) Hepatitis C virus (HCV)--A virus that may be contracted
through exposure to blood and/or body fluids and may result in chronic
liver disease, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular (liver) cancer.
(14) Health care professional--A person whose legally
permitted scope of practice allows him or her to independently evaluate
an employee of a governmental unit and determine the appropriate interventions
after an exposure incident; this would include hepatitis B vaccination
and postexposure evaluation and follow up.
(15) Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)--HIV may be
contracted through blood and/or body fluids and can result in Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which the body is
unable to fight infections.
(16) Needleless system--A device that does not use
a needle and that is used:
(A) to withdraw body fluids after initial venous or
arterial access is established;
(B) to administer medication or fluids; or
(C) for any other procedure involving the potential
for an exposure incident.
(17) Occupational exposure--A reasonably anticipated
skin, eye, mucous membrane, or parenteral contact with blood or other
potentially infectious materials that may result from the performance
of an employee's duties.
(18) Other potentially infectious materials (OPIMs);
include:
(A) the following human body fluids: semen, vaginal
secretions, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, pleural fluid, pericardial
fluid, peritoneal fluid, amniotic fluid, saliva in dental procedures,
any body fluid that is visibly contaminated with blood, and all body
fluids in situations where it is difficult or impossible to differentiate
between body fluids;
(B) any unfixed tissue or organ (other than intact
skin) from a human, living or dead; and
(C) HIV-, HBV-, or HCV-containing cell or tissue cultures,
organ cultures, culture medium or other solutions; and blood, organs,
or other tissues from experimental animals infected with HIV, HBV
or HCV.
(19) Personal protective equipment (PPE)--Specialized
clothing or equipment worn by an employee for protection against a
hazard. General work clothes (e.g., uniforms, pants, shirts, or blouses)
not intended to function as protection against a hazard are not considered
to be personal protective equipment.
(20) Regulated waste/special waste from health care-related
facilities--Solid waste which if improperly treated or handled may
serve to transmit an infectious disease(s) and which is composed of
the following:
(A) animal waste;
(B) bulk blood, bulk human blood products, or bulk
human body fluids;
(C) microbiological waste;
(D) pathological waste; or
(E) sharps.
(21) Sharp--An object used or encountered in a health
care setting that can be reasonably anticipated to penetrate the skin
or any other part of the body and to result in an exposure incident
and includes but is not limited to:
(A) needle devices;
(B) scalpels;
(C) lancets;
(D) a piece of broken glass;
(E) a broken capillary tube;
(F) an exposed end of a dental wire; or
(G) a dental knife, drill, or bur.
(22) Sharps injury--Any injury caused by a sharp, including
a cut, abrasion, or needlestick.
(23) Universal precautions/standard precautions--Approaches
to infection control as defined in Title 29 Code of Federal Regulation §1910.1030,
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Bloodborne Pathogens
Standard and the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee’s
2007 Guideline for Isolation Precautions: Preventing Transmission
of Infectious Agents in Healthcare Settings. According to the concept
of universal precautions, all human blood and certain human body fluids
are treated as if known to be infectious for HIV, HBV, HCV, and other
bloodborne pathogens.
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