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| [ Introduced ] | [ House Amendment 001 ] |
91_HB0979eng HB0979 Engrossed LRB9101917KSgc 1 AN ACT in relation to worker safety. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 5 Health Care Worker Needle Stick Injury Protection Act. 6 Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act the 7 following definitions shall apply: 8 "Bloodborne pathogens" means pathogenic microorganisms 9 that are present in human blood and can cause disease in 10 humans. These pathogens include, but are not limited to, the 11 hepatitis B virus, the hepatitis C virus, and the human 12 immunodeficiency virus. 13 "Engineered sharps injury protection" means either: 14 (1) a physical attribute built into a needle device 15 used for withdrawing body fluids, accessing a vein or 16 artery, or administering medications or other fluids, 17 which effectively reduces the risk of an exposure 18 incident by a mechanism such as barrier creation, 19 blunting, encapsulation, withdrawal, retraction, 20 destruction, or other effective mechanisms; or 21 (2) a physical attribute built into any other type 22 of needle device, or into a non-needle sharp, which 23 effectively reduces the risk of an exposure incident. 24 "Needleless system" means a device that does not utilize 25 needles for: 26 (1) the withdrawal of body fluids after initial 27 venous or artial access is established; 28 (2) the administration of medication or fluids; and 29 (3) any other procedure involving the potential for 30 an exposure incident. 31 "Public employer" means each employer having a public HB0979 Engrossed -2- LRB9101917KSgc 1 employee or employees with occupational exposure to blood or 2 other material potentially containing bloodborne pathogens. 3 "Public employee" means an employee of the State or a 4 local government unit or an agency of the State or local 5 government who is employed in a public or private health care 6 facility, home health care organization, or other facility 7 providing health care related services. 8 "Sharp" means any object used or encountered in a health 9 care setting that can be reasonably anticipated to penetrate 10 the skin or any other part of the body, and to result in an 11 exposure incident, including, but not limited to, needle 12 devices, scalpels, lancets, broken glass, broken capillary 13 tubes, exposed ends of dental wires and dental knives, 14 drills, and burs. 15 "Sharps injury" means any injury caused by a sharp, 16 including, but not limited to, cuts, abrasions, needlesticks, 17 or human bites. 18 "Sharps injury log" means a written or electronic record 19 satisfying the requirements of paragraph (2) of subsection 20 (a) of Section 15. 21 Section 15. Bloodborne pathogen standards. 22 (a) The Department of Public Health shall, no later than 23 6 months from the date of enactment of this Act, adopt a 24 bloodborne pathogen standard governing occupational exposure 25 of public employees to blood and other potentially infectious 26 materials. The standard shall be at least as prescriptive as 27 the standard promulgated by the federal Occupational Safety 28 and Health Administration and shall include, but not be 29 limited to, the following: 30 (1) A requirement that needleless systems and 31 sharps with engineered sharps injury protection be 32 implemented in all facilities employing public employees, 33 except in cases where an evaluation committee, HB0979 Engrossed -3- LRB9101917KSgc 1 established by the employer, at least half the members of 2 which are front-line health care workers, determines by 3 means of objective product evaluation criteria that use 4 of the devices will jeopardize patient or employee safety 5 with regard to a specific medical procedure or where the 6 product is not reasonably available in the commercial 7 marketplace; provided that the requirements of this 8 paragraph (1) shall not apply to pre-filled syringes or 9 medications approved by the federal Food and Drug 10 Administration. 11 (2) A requirement that information concerning 12 exposure incidents be recorded in a sharps injury log, 13 including, but not limited to: 14 (A) date and time of the exposure incident; 15 (B) type and brand of sharp involved in the 16 exposure incident; and 17 (C) description of the exposure incident, 18 which shall include: 19 (I) job classification of the exposed 20 employee; 21 (II) department or work area where the 22 exposure incident occurred; 23 (III) the procedure that the exposed 24 employee was performing at the time of the 25 incident; 26 (IV) how the incident occurred; 27 (V) the body part involved in the 28 exposure incident; 29 (VI) if the sharp had engineered sharps 30 injury protection, whether the protective 31 mechanism was activated, and whether the injury 32 occurred before the protective mechanism was 33 activated, during activation of the mechanism, 34 or after activation of the mechanism, if HB0979 Engrossed -4- LRB9101917KSgc 1 applicable; 2 (VII) if the sharp had no engineered 3 sharps injury protection, the injured 4 employee's opinion as to whether and how such a 5 mechanism could have prevented the injury, as 6 well as the basis for the opinion; and 7 (VIII) the employer's opinion about 8 whether any other engineering, administrative, 9 or work practice control could have prevented 10 the injury, as well as the basis for the 11 opinion. 12 (b) The Department of Public Health shall consider 13 additional enactments as part of the bloodborne pathogen 14 standard to prevent sharps injuries or exposure incidents 15 including, but not limited to, training and educational 16 requirements, measures to increase vaccinations, strategic 17 placement of sharps containers as close to the work area as 18 practical, and increase use of personal protective equipment. 19 (c) The Department of Public Health shall compile and 20 maintain a list of existing needleless systems and sharps 21 with engineered sharps injury protection, which shall be 22 available to assist employers in complying with the 23 requirements of the bloodborne pathogen standards adopted 24 pursuant to this Act. The list may be developed from 25 existing sources of information, including but not limited 26 to, the federal Food and Drug Administration, the federal 27 Centers for Disease Control, the National Institute of 28 Occupational Safety and Health, and the United States 29 Department of Veterans Affairs. 30 (d) The Health Care Worker Injury Protection Fund is 31 created in the State Treasury. Money in the Fund shall be 32 used, subject to appropriation, by the Department of Public 33 Health to provide for research, development, and product 34 evaluations of needleless systems and sharps with engineered HB0979 Engrossed -5- LRB9101917KSgc 1 sharps injury protection. 2 Section 905. The State Finance Act is amended by adding 3 Section 5.490 as follows: 4 (30 ILCS 105/5.490 new) 5 Sec. 5.490. The Health Care Worker Injury Protection 6 Fund.