An article by Martha Polovich, MN, RN, AOCNA appears in the September 30, 2004, Online Journal of Issues in Nursing: “Safe Handling of Hazardous Drugs.” Polovich’s article posted to the Online Journal during the same month as an alert from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) on the same subject ("Reducing Occupational Exposure to Antineoplastic and Other Hazardous Drugs in Health Care Settings"). Both the article and the NIOSH Alert examine the issue extensively and provide suggested measures for protecting healthcare workers, including use of a closed-system device for safe handling of antineoplastic and other hazardous drugs. In addition to the recent article, Polovich is profiled online at Expert411.com (click the hazardous drugs tab).
Denver, CO (PRWEB) October 23, 2004 -- An article by Martha Polovich, MN, RN, AOCNA appears in the September 30, 2004, Online Journal of Issues in Nursing: “Safe Handling of Hazardous Drugs.” The article, found at http://www.nursingworld.org/ojin/topic25/tpc25_5.htm, published during the same month as an alert from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) on the same subject ("Reducing Occupational Exposure to Antineoplastic and Other Hazardous Drugs in Health Care Settings”): http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2004-165/. The announcement is made by Greg Baldwin, Chairman and CEO of Baxa Corporation in Englewood, CO, who recently announced that Polovich, along with Jim Jorgenson, RPh, MS, with the Huntsman Cancer Center in Utah are featured at a special expert information site for journalists: http://www.expert411.com/_wsn/page9.html.
“With hazardous drug handling brought to the forefront of public scrutiny by the recent NIOSH Alert and other respected studies and articles, we felt it both important and helpful to assemble expert sources and information on the subject,” Baldwin explains. Baxa is a proponent of closed system technology (CST) that prevents the workplace contamination threats delineated in both Polovich’s article and the Alert.
Polovich is an experienced cancer educator and is co-author of "Chemotherapy and Biotherapy Guidelines and Recommendations for Practice" with Brown, K.A., Esper, P., Kelleher, L.O., O'Neill, J.E.B., & White, J.M. (Pittsburgh, PA 2001) in addition to the recently published "Hazardous Drug Safe Handling" with the Oncology Nursing Society (Pittsburgh, PA, 2003). She received her diploma in nursing from Mount Sinai Hospital Medical Center, her BSN from Louisiana State University, and her MN in Adult Health Nursing from Louisiana State University. Polovich is an Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist at Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale, GA, and active in the Oncology Nurses Society. She has been caring for persons with cancer and administering chemotherapy since 1980 and has represented the Oncology Nursing Society on the NIOSH Hazardous Drug Safe Handling Working Group since 2000.
Recently interviewed by Hematology Oncology News & Issues, Polovich had this to say regarding the risks of mixing chemotherapy in the April 2004 issue: "They are genotoxic. They can cause birth defects if you're pregnant or actively trying to conceive. They can also cause miscarriage. They can cause cancer."
The NIOSH Alert, "Preventing Occupational Exposures to Antineoplastic and other Hazardous Drugs in Healthcare Settings," reflects years of work by physician, nurse, pharmacist and scientific experts in collaboration with members of the broad-based NIOSH Hazardous Drug Safe Handling working group.
Baxa Corporation is a proponent of using CST for safe handling of antineoplastic and other hazardous drugs. CST uses dry connections and a built-in expansion chamber to prevent drug aerosol leakage and subsequent transfer into the work environment. As a closed system, it contains hazardous drugs throughout the entire process of drug transfer, preparation, transport, administration and disposal - eliminating the risks of environmental and occupational exposure.
About Baxa Corporation
A leading provider of devices and systems for the preparation, handling, packaging, and administration of liquid medications, Baxa Corporation manufactures and markets a wide range of healthcare products for use in hospitals, critical care units and alternate-site pharmacies. Headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, Baxa has subsidiaries and sales offices in Canada, the United Kingdom; Denmark, and Germany; and distribution partners worldwide. Further information is available at http://www.baxa.com.
Click the following link to view a presentation by Jim Jorgenson "Using a Closed System Device to Reduce Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Drugs." Jorgenson is Director of Pharmacy for the Huntsman Cancer Institute and Associate Dean for Professional Affairs at the University of Utah:
http://www.isips.org/presentations/PhaSeal/player.html
Contacts:
Marian Robinson, Vice President, Marketing
Baxa Corporation: 800.567.2292 ext. 2157 or 303.617.2157
Email: marian.robinson@baxa.com
Maggie Chamberlin Holben, APR, Absolutely Public Relations
303.984.9801, 303.669.3558 Email: maggie@absolutelypr.com
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