Nursing Perspective On Hazardous Drug Handling Publishes in the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing
An article by Martha Polovich, MN, RN, AOCNA appears in the September 30, 2004, Online Journal of Issues in Nursing: “Safe Handling of Hazardous Drugs.” Polovich’s article posted to the Online Journal during the same month as an alert from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) on the same subject ("Reducing Occupational Exposure to Antineoplastic and Other Hazardous Drugs in Health Care Settings"). Both the article and the NIOSH Alert examine the issue extensively and provide suggested measures for protecting healthcare workers, including use of a closed-system device for safe handling of antineoplastic and other hazardous drugs. In addition to the recent article, Polovich is profiled online at Expert411.com (click the hazardous drugs tab).
Denver, CO (PRWEB) October 23, 2004 -- An article by Martha Polovich, MN, RN,
AOCNA appears in the September 30, 2004, Online Journal of Issues in Nursing:
“Safe Handling of Hazardous Drugs.” The article, found at http://www.nursingworld.org/ojin/topic25/tpc25_5.htm,
published during the same month as an alert from the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) on the same subject ("Reducing
Occupational Exposure to Antineoplastic and Other Hazardous Drugs in Health Care
Settings”): http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2004-165/. The announcement is
made by Greg Baldwin, Chairman and CEO of Baxa Corporation in Englewood, CO, who
recently announced that Polovich, along with Jim Jorgenson, RPh, MS, with the
Huntsman Cancer Center in Utah are featured at a special expert information site
for journalists: http://www.expert411.com/_wsn/page9.html.
“With
hazardous drug handling brought to the forefront of public scrutiny by the
recent NIOSH Alert and other respected studies and articles, we felt it both
important and helpful to assemble expert sources and information on the
subject,” Baldwin explains. Baxa is the US distributor of PhaSeal®, the only
closed system that prevents the workplace contamination threats delineated in
both Polovich’s article and the Alert.
Polovich is an experienced cancer
educator and is co-author of "Chemotherapy and Biotherapy Guidelines and
Recommendations for Practice" with Brown, K.A., Esper, P., Kelleher, L.O.,
O'Neill, J.E.B., & White, J.M. (Pittsburgh, PA 2001) in addition to the
recently published "Hazardous Drug Safe Handling" with the Oncology Nursing
Society (Pittsburgh, PA, 2003). She received her diploma in nursing from Mount
Sinai Hospital Medical Center, her BSN from Louisiana State University, and her
MN in Adult Health Nursing from Louisiana State University. Polovich is an
Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist at Southern Regional Medical Center in
Riverdale, GA, and active in the Oncology Nurses Society. She has been caring
for persons with cancer and administering chemotherapy since 1980 and has
represented the Oncology Nursing Society on the NIOSH Hazardous Drug Safe
Handling Working Group since 2000.
Recently interviewed by Hematology
Oncology News & Issues, Polovich had this to say regarding the risks of
mixing chemotherapy in the April 2004 issue: "They are genotoxic. They can cause
birth defects if you're pregnant or actively trying to conceive. They can also
cause miscarriage. They can cause cancer."
The NIOSH Alert, "Preventing
Occupational Exposures to Antineoplastic and other Hazardous Drugs in Healthcare
Settings," reflects years of work by physician, nurse, pharmacist and scientific
experts in collaboration with members of the broad-based NIOSH Hazardous Drug
Safe Handling working group.
Baxa Corporation offers the only closed
system for safe handling of antineoplastic and other hazardous drugs. This
system, PhaSeal, uses dry connections and a built-in expansion chamber to
prevent drug aerosol leakage and subsequent transfer into the work environment.
As a closed system, it contains hazardous drugs throughout the entire process of
drug transfer, preparation, transport, administration and disposal - eliminating
the risks of environmental and occupational exposure.
The PhaSeal System
is currently in use for handling hazardous drugs in nearly 200 leading cancer
hospitals in the US. The system is also used in progressive hospitals throughout
Europe.
A leading provider of devices and systems for the preparation,
handling, packaging, and administration of liquid medications, Baxa Corporation
manufactures and markets a wide range of healthcare products for use in
hospitals, critical care units and alternate-site pharmacies. Headquartered in
Englewood, Colorado, Baxa has subsidiaries and sales offices in Canada, the
United Kingdom; Denmark, and Germany; and distribution partners worldwide.
Further information is available at http://www.baxa.com.
The PhaSeal System is manufactured
in Sweden by Carmel Pharma ab of Göteborg, Sweden. Introduced in Europe in 1994,
the PhaSeal System is now used in most Swedish hospitals, with its benefits
documented by a significant body of scientific research on the health risks
associated with the preparation and administration of cytotoxic drugs. The
PhaSeal System is protected by a comprehensive patent portfolio in the U.S.,
European Union and Japan. For more information on Carmel Pharma, please visit http://www.carmelpharma.se.
Click the following link to
view a presentation by Jim Jorgenson "Using a Closed System Device to Reduce
Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Drugs." Jorgenson is Director of Pharmacy for
the Huntsman Cancer Institute and Associate Dean for Professional Affairs at the
University of Utah:
http://www.isips.org/presentations/PhaSeal/player.html
Contacts:
Marian
Robinson, Vice President, Marketing
Baxa Corporation: 800.567.2292 ext. 2157
or 303.617.2157
Email: e-mail protected from spam bots
Maggie
Chamberlin Holben, APR, Absolutely Public Relations
303.984.9801,
303.669.3558 Email: e-mail protected from spam bots
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/10/prweb170487.htm