Safe in Common to Exhibit at APIC Annual Educational Conference

SAN ANTONIO, June 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Safe in Common, a non-profit organization of healthcare safety advocates, announced it will exhibit at the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology's (APIC) 39th Annual Educational Conference & International Meeting, which will be held in San Antonio, Texas from June 4 through June 6.

During its year-long Needlestick Safety Advocacy Tour, Safe in Common is engaging healthcare personnel at a series of U.S. conferences to raise awareness of needlestick safety and promote safer engineering controls. Some 5.6 million U.S. healthcare personnel are at risk of occupational exposure to HIV, hepatitis C and other life-threatening bloodborne diseases transmitted via needlestick or sharps related injuries.

Dr. Mary Foley, RN, PHD, Chairperson of Safe in Common said, "Each year, thousands of healthcare personnel dedicated to infection prevention attend the APIC Conference.  These are the people Safe in Common really speaks to – those who are on the frontline of preventing infection among healthcare personnel. Healthcare professionals attending APIC understand how terrifying a needlestick or sharps injury can be, regardless of whether a bloodborne disease such as HIV or hepatitis C is ultimately contracted."

As part of SIC's presence at APIC, the Organization will encourage healthcare personnel to take the Needlestick Safety Pledge as a step toward preventing needlestick and sharps related injuries.

Safe in Common's work to eradicate needlestick and sharps related injuries and to promote the adoption of safer engineering controls will resonate with APIC's audience of healthcare personnel, and is in line with this year's conference theme being "Infection Prevention: Improving Outcomes, Saving Lives."

"One thing that continues to astound me as we talk to more people across the country is how pervasive these needlestick and sharps injuries are, but they don't have to be," said Dr. Foley.  "We have worked hard these past few months to create a community of peers who share these concerns and seek a common voice for change."

Safe in Common will be exhibiting at Booth 514, where healthcare workers can meet Dr. Foley, discuss Safe in Common's mission and sign the Needlestick Safety Pledge.

Safe in Common believes that all healthcare workers deserve access to the simplest, safest available technologies so that they can work within an environment that is free from the risks of life-changing needlestick injuries. SIC encourages government agencies to remain diligent in their enforcement and promotion of the Needlestick Safety Act until all occupational needlestick injuries are eradicated.

For more information about Safe in Common and the Organization's ongoing work to raise awareness of needlestick safety and promote utilizing safer engineering controls that protect healthcare workers from unnecessary needlestick and sharps related injuries, please visit http://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 Nursing 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, go to www.facebook.com/safeincommon and follow Safe in Common on Twitter at www.twitter.com/safeincommon.

Media Contacts:

Joe McGurk / Caitlin Cox

KCSA Strategic Communications

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P: 212-896-1231 / 212-896-1289

SOURCE Safe in Common