Foremost Needlestick Experts Join Safe in Common to Present Online Conference to Address "The Unfinished Agenda"

NEW YORK, Nov. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Safe in Common (SIC), the non-profit organization of healthcare safety advocates dedicated to eradicating needlestick and sharps-related injuries, has fielded hundreds of questions from across the globe as it convenes a panel of healthcare safety experts this week to address "The Unfinished Agenda," the first-ever multi-media exploration of the past, present and future of needlestick safety.

More than 800 members of the global healthcare community, from veteran nurses and healthcare administrators to pharmaceutical manufacturers, have registered for the online event and the chance to submit questions to Safe in Common's panel of experts. Registration to participate during the November 14, 2012 event (beginning 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time) is free and can be arranged online at http://bit.ly/SICconf.

"The Unfinished Agenda" is the first in a series of critical discussions among the nation's foremost healthcare personnel safety experts and the frontline workers who face needlestick and sharps danger without a unified plan to address the shortcomings in injury prevention. This event picks up where federal regulations left off more than 10 years ago and is an examination of modern needlestick safety – past, present and future – from its roots in the 1980s HIV/AIDS crisis to where we stand today.

"The Unfinished Agenda delivers an historical and unique perspective that can only be provided by the nation's foremost thought leaders and experts who individually have been fighting for increased safety. Presented together for the first time, panel's experience will be combined with the voices of concern from the frontlines of today's healthcare environments. 

The online conference will be moderated by SIC Chairperson Dr. Mary Foley, PhD, RN. Dr. Foley, the Director at the Center for Nursing Research/Innovation at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) School of Nursing, has been a champion for healthcare worker safety for nearly four decades, and will be joined by:

• PJ (Pamela J.) Haylock, PhD, RN, FAAN, Chief Executive Officer of the Association for Vascular Access
• Dr. Janine C. Jagger, Professor of Research of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University of Virginia, Founder and Director of the International Health Care Worker Safety Center at the University of Virginia
• Gina Pugliese, Vice President of the Premier Safety Institute, adjunct faculty at the University of Illinois School of Public Health and Rush University College of Nursing, Senior Associate Editor of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.

The event will present a live discussion as well as interviews and videos with student nurses, key opinion leaders and healthcare workers all over the U.S. The discussion has already been launched and hundreds of questions have been sent into from across the globe. Panelists will weigh in on each as they take this important look at the history of needlestick safety.

This online conference is part of Safe in Common's continued mission to unify and educate people about the risks of needlestick and sharps-related injuries. This event will explore myriad concerns and demands for action from doctors, nurses, healthcare personnel, and administrators whose unity is needed to introduce the long-overdue innovation, awareness and demand for a safer work environment for the healthcare personnel who save lives each day. 

The online conference format will provide unparalleled engagement and interaction among those who for decades have been leading the charge toward advanced healthcare personnel safety. The event will launch a series of exclusive, SIC videos that have captured the demands, dreams and calls to action from the nation's healthcare personnel. As SIC continues to be the unifying force for associated protection for workers across the healthcare spectrum, attendees will have the unique opportunity to ask one-on-one what they can do to protect themselves and their coworkers.

The event is part of SIC's on-going efforts to spark innovation, awareness and change across the healthcare spectrum, with a core focus on the Needlestick Safety Pledge.

For more information about the online conference, please visit: http://bit.ly/SICconf. To join the cause and be part of the mission, take the pledge at www.safeincommon.org.

About Safe in Common
Safe in Common is a non-profit organization established to enhance and save the lives of U.S. healthcare personnel at risk of harm from needlestick injuries.  It is led by Chairperson Mary Foley, PhD, RN, former President of the American Nurses Association and other industry leaders. To learn more about the Needlestick Safety Pledge and its goal of promoting and strengthening the Federal Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act, please visit www.facebook.com/safeincommon and follow Safe in Common on Twitter at www.twitter.com/safeincommon.

Media Contact:
Joe McGurk
KCSA Strategic Communications
(212) 896-1231
[email protected]

SOURCE Safe in Common