Medical Services and First Aid

Medical Services and First Aid
  • Is there a hospital, clinic, or infirmary for medical care in proximity of your workplace?
  • If medical and first-aid facilities are not in proximity of your workplace, is at least one employee on each shift currently qualified to render first aid?
  • Have all employees who are expected to respond to medical emergencies as part of their work*

    (1) received first-aid training; (2) had hepatitis B vaccination made available to them; (3) had appropriate training on procedures to protect them from bloodborne pathogens, including universal precautions; and (4) have available and understand how to use appropriate personal protective equipment to protect against exposure to bloodborne diseases?
  • Where employees have had an exposure incident involving bloodborne pathogens, did you provide an immediate post-exposure medical evaluation and followup?
  • Are medical personnel readily available for advice and consultation on matters of employees' health?
  • Are emergency phone numbers posted?
  • Are first-aid kits easily accessible to each work area, with necessary supplies available, periodically inspected and replenished as needed?
  • Have first-aid kit supplies been approved by a physician, indicating that they are adequate for a particular area or operation?
  • Are means provided for quick drenching or flushing of the eyes and body in areas where corrosive liquids or materials are handled?
*Pursuant to an OSHA memorandum of July 1, 1992, employees who render first aid only as a collateral duty do not have to be offered pre-exposure hepatitis B vaccine only if the employer puts the following requirements into his/her exposure control plan and implements them: (1 ) the employer must record all first-aid incidents involving the presence of blood or other potentially infectious materials before the end of the work shift during which the first-aid incident occurred; (2) the employer must comply with post-exposure evaluation, prophylaxis, and followup requirements of the standard with respect to "exposure incidents," as defined by the standard; (3) the employer must train designated first-aid providers about the reporting procedure; and (4) the employer must offer to initiate the hepatitis B vaccination series within 24 hours to all unvaccinated first-aid providers who have rendered assistance in any situation involving the presence of blood or other potentially infectious materials.

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