Palm Beach Medical waste can cause a physical injury or infection in many cases where proper Palm Beach medical waste management is not exercised. Wastes of this type must be handled and disposed of with great care in order to minimize the risks of injury or spreading a disease.
This is why a medical waste management plan needs to be developed based on both the amount and the type of waste a health care facility generates. However, in addition to a good disposal system, this plan should also involve hand washing and sanitizing, as the most effective way of reducing infection risks. Using disposable gloves (made out of nitrile or latex) is a must in any situation related to infectious and pathogenic materials.
How is Medical Waste Handled?
Start by devising a solid medical waste management plan based on the inventory of waste your facility produces. This inventory needs to involve both materials that are clearly infectious and those that are potentially infectious. Treat disposable items (gloves, bandages, gauze, etc) that have been contaminated with blood always as medical waste.
Next, medical personnel must be educated and trained in recognizing infectious waste and handling it safely. Employees responsible for handling medical wastes must also be trained to use PPE (personal protective equipment), sharps containers, as well as hand-washing and surface-sanitizing procedures.
Speaking of sharps containers, these receptacles need to be distributed to all rooms where needles and other sharps are used. These are hard plastic receptacles and they need to be leak and pierce proof. Sharps need to be placed inside these containers immediately after use in order to prevent an injury or infection to both the medical worker and the waste handler.
Do not allow general and hazardous wastes to be mixed with infectious wastes. Store the latter in separate containers and bags (red ones, with a biohazard sign) and secure areas. Access to those areas should be allowed only to few. Medical waste should not be stored at a health care facility for long, however, as it has to be disinfected or destroyed quickly to minimize any hazard from it.
Only employ professional and licensed medical waste management companies to dispose of infectious waste. It is a prudent policy, before you sign a contract with one of them is to inspect their facility and make sure they are using proper waste disposal methods, such as incineration, autoclaving, chemical disinfection, microwaving or other approved destruction method.
Finally, after getting rid of medical wastes, make sure that you have cleaned and sanitized your hands (even if you wore gloves) with an alcohol-based sanitizer and an anti-septic soap. Horizontal surfaces will also need cleaning, so use proper sanitizers for them also.
So, to wrap up, health care facilities have to deal with literally tons of waste every day. A lot of this waste can be physically injurious and infectious to humans and dangerous for the animals and the environment. As such, they should be handled and disposed of using proper palm Beach medical waste management procedures and techniques.
