Global Needlestick Prevention Group honors Five with Sharps Injury Prevention Awards

ISIPS, the first international sharps injury prevention group, announced that 5 recipients are being honored for reducing sharps injuries. These awards are part of the International Sharps Injury Prevention Awareness Month activities.

SOUTH JORDAN, Utah-December 6, 2002 -- ISIPS, the first international sharps injury prevention group, announced that 5 recipients are being honored for reducing sharps injuries. These awards are part of the International Sharps Injury Prevention Awareness Month activities.

In every field of human endeavor, there are those who are at the forefront making a difference with their lives and energy. The International Sharps Injury Prevention Society (ISIPS) and Managing Infection Control magazine have created the Sharps Injury Prevention award to encourage those that are making a difference in reducing sharps injuries.

The 2002 Sharps Injury Prevention Awards have been given to honor five individuals who have demonstrated creative, consistent contributions to the field of sharps injury prevention.

The 2002 International Sharps Injury Prevention Award recipients are: Barbara DeBaun, Rep. Cass Ballenger, Connie Steed, Jennifer Hawbaker and Tim Truitt.    

Detailed Information
Barbara DeBaun
Barbara DeBaun is a certified Infection Control Practitioner who has worked in the field of Infection Control for the past 24 years. DeBaun is currently responsible for managing the Infection Control Program at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. She has published and lectured nationally and internationally on infection control issues, particularly on topics related to healthcare worker safety and sharp injury prevention and related initiatives.

Rep. Cass Ballenger
Rep. Cass Ballenger (R-N.C.) authored the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act (H.R. 5178) that amended the Occupational Safety and Health Administrations Bloodborne Pathogens. Rep. Ballengers work puts the safety of healthcare workers first. The Act requires that safer medical devices will be used and the lives of healthcare workers will be made better for it. Healthcare workers around the country are safer because of the legislative efforts of Rep. Ballenger.

Connie Steed RN, BSN, CIC
Connie Steed has worked in the field of Infection Control and epidemiology since 1978. She became involved in efforts to reduce the risk of healthcare worker exposure to bloodborne pathogens during the early-'80s through education. She established an exposure-risk reduction program that collects sharps injury data that is used to eliminate sharps exposure. She teaches sharps injury prevention in meetings around the world and has published extensively.

Jennifer Hawbaker
Jennifer Hawbaker wanted to help healthcare workers learn more about the new products that help reduce sharps injury. She decided to put free "sample" packs of bloodborne pathogens products together for distribution to healthcare organizations. Jennifer contacted five of the top syringe dealers in the United States and convinced them to send her free product samples. She then put together information on the importance of reducing needle ticks and packaged the information and samples into sample packs. Hawbaker created and distributed 1,000 sample packs. More than 800 organizations have received these packs and tested the products. More than 65 percent of these organizations have committed to implementing sharps safety programs in their facilities.

Tim Truitt
Tim Truitt has taken a personal interest in developing products that protect clinicians from needlestick injuries and exposure to bloodborne pathogens. He has been involved in development of needleless access connectors that eliminate the need for needles while still allowing clinicians to access patient catheters and IV sets. Truitts designs include needleless connectors, vial adapters, y-site needleless adapter and anesthesia manifolds.

We thank those companies that have sponsored these awards this year. These companies include Medamicus, Tyco Healthcare/Kendall, Becton Dickinson, B. Braun, and Porex Medical.