Safe in Common's Online Conference - "The Unfinished Agenda: Addressing the Challenges" - to Explore Unmet Needlestick and Sharps Protection Needs

NEW YORK, Jan. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Safe in Common (SIC), the non-profit organization of healthcare safety advocates dedicated to eradicating needlestick and sharps-related injuries, today opened registration for its second online conference in a series of events addressing needlestick and sharps safety.  The conference, "The Unfinished Agenda: Addressing the Challenges," will take place on February 5 at 1:00pm ET. 

As part of The Unfinished Agenda series of online events, Safe in Common has assembled a panel of the nation's foremost needlestick prevention experts to determine how the healthcare community can best align together to optimize levels of protection for healthcare personnel at continued risk of sharps-related injuries.

The forthcoming live, online event will focus upon minimizing the risk of sharps-related injuries within the operating room (OR), the development of optimal selection criteria for engineered sharps devices, and the improved use of data to improve exposure control plans. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and cast their opinion across a range of important topics during the event. To register, click here: "The Unfinished Agenda: Addressing the Challenges."

The event will be moderated by Dr. Mary Foley, PhD, RN, Chairperson of SIC and Director of the Center for Nursing Research and Innovation at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) School of Nursing. She will be joined during the presentation by:

• Mary Ogg, MSN, RN, CNOR and Perioperative Nursing Specialist from The Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN)
• Angela Laramie, Epidemiologist with the Sharps Injury Surveillance Project in the Occupational Health Surveillance Program at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health
• June M. Fisher, MD, Clinical Professor in the Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine
• Elise Handelman, Former Director of the Office of Occupational Health Nursing at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

"Following the success of our first event in November 2012, we're continuing The Unfinished Agenda program to highlight the shortcomings in protecting healthcare personnel and reinvigorate momentum towards the eradication of needlestick and sharps injuries," Dr. Foley said. "We encourage all healthcare personnel seeking to minimize the risk of harm across the continuum of care to participate in this important industry event."

The online conference series is part of SIC's ongoing efforts to promote and strengthen the Federal Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act, raise awareness of needlestick safety, and utilize safer engineering controls to protect healthcare personnel from unnecessary needlestick injuries. To join the cause and be part of the mission, take the Pledge at http://www.safeincommon.org/needlestick-safety-pledge.

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