In the United States, approximately 50,000 adults die each year from vaccine-preventable diseases. The immunization shortfall has multiple causes, but health experts agree that leveraging “non-traditional sites of vaccination delivery” can help overcome barriers to care. Retail pharmacies play an important role in this effort. Between 2007 and 2013, the number of vaccinations dispensed by community pharmacies rose from 3.2 million to 20.9 million.
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Category: Medical Waste
Brookdale Senior Living & Sharps Compliance: 9 Questions for a Long-Standing Sharps Customer
Each day, Brookdale Senior Living serves over 100,000 seniors in more than 1,000 communities in 46 states. Brookdale is the only provider operating at this scale across all segments of the senior living continuum. Levels of care offered include independent living, assisted living, Alzheimer’s and dementia care, rehabilitation and skilled nursing, continuing care retirement communities, and a variety of ancillary services including home health and hospice care.
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What Happens to Regulated Medical Waste After It Leaves Your Facility?
Healthcare workers are often surprised to learn that 85% of the waste generated at their facility is classified as solid waste and can be disposed of as regular trash. The remaining 15% is classified as either biohazardous, hazardous, or other regulated waste and must be handled, contained, and disposed of per state and federal regulations.
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Safely Dispose of Pet Needles, Syringes, and Medications
Americans love their pets! So, in honor of National Spay/Neuter Awareness Month and World Spay Day (February 27), we’re spending the month highlighting a specific segment of medical waste generators – veterinary hospitals and pet owners. Our pets are living longer, so pet owners need to be knowledgeable about safety issues around home medical care for diseases related to obesity and aging – specifically safe disposal of syringes and unused medications.
The American Pet Products Association’s 2017/2018 annual survey of pet ownership found that approximately 47 million households in the U.S. have at least one cat and 60 million households have at least one dog. As the United States population ages, our pets are aging right along with us and are subject to many of the same diseases of aging – and often the same treatments. Many pet owners now give regular in-home injections to their pets and must deal with how to safely dispose of the syringes.
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Veterinarians Protect Staff, Patients, & Communities with Proper Medical Waste Disposal Practices
In honor of National Spay/Neuter Awareness Month and World Spay Day (February 27), we’re highlighting a specific segment of medical waste generators – veterinary hospitals and clinics. Many veterinary practices are small businesses that play large roles in their communities by keeping pets healthy, supporting animal rescue organizations, and helping stop the spread of rabies and other diseases.
Because pet owners most often visit veterinary offices for preventative care – vaccinations, spay/neuter surgeries, etc. – it’s easy to forget that they are often small hospitals that can generate many of the same types of medical waste as human hospitals and medical offices. Indeed, for most companion animals, a veterinary hospital offers primary care, surgical care, emergency care, dental care, and end-of-life care. So, it’s no surprise that veterinarians must understand how to safely package and dispose of many types of regulated medical waste.
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