Maryland Funeral Home Biohazard Disposal
Managing Waste In Funeral Homes-MD-DC-VA Contact Secure Waste
Maryland Funeral Biohazard waste disposal. Need assistance
with medical and biohazard funeral home waste? Contact Secure Waste we provide Maryland
biohazard & medical sharps waste management for Funeral homes throughout
Maryland-Virginia-Washington DC.
For the updated protocol with Funeral home biohazard
management, check out this great article from the National Funeral Home association
and Mdpro. For local Maryland Biohazard disposal at your funeral home in
MD-DC-VA contact Secure Waste today for a FREE cost analysis and quote for
disposal at your location.
Main Components for - Safe
Biohazard Waste Management in a Funeral Home.
When
it comes to managing a funeral home, disposing of the potentially infectious
waste stream can feel daunting. However, if you understand the 4 main
components of safe waste management, you will be on your way to running a safe
funeral home that is fully compliant with all regulations.
Listed are the most common types of medical waste found in funeral homes.
•Sharps
container waste, such as needles.
•Materials
such as gauze and gowns that accompany the deceased to the funeral home.
•Materials
used in the preparation room such as disposable gloves, gauze and tubing.
The
National Funeral Directors Association issued a document entitled Funeral Home
Medical Waste Protocol. This includes a list of wastes not classified as
medical waste that must be disposed of by other means. These include, but are
not limited to:
•Pharmaceutical
Waste
•Chemical
Waste
•Radioactive
Waste
•Bulk
Chemotherapy Waste
Then
there are wastes types like trace-contaminated chemotherapy waste, which differ
from bulk or unused chemotherapy drug waste. An example of this would be used
chemotherapy drug vials that could potentially accompany the deceased to a
funeral home. In many states this type of waste can be placed in the biohazard
waste bins that are picked up by your medical waste disposal contractor.
On the
other hand, pathological wastes such as bodily fluids or tissue often must be
segregated or labeled separately from your biohazard waste because of the
method used for properly disposing of such waste. Rather than an autoclave,
this type of waste often needs to be incinerated to ensure all potentially
infectious material has been destroyed. If your medical waste hauler determines
that pathological waste has been mixed with other biohazard waste then they may
be forced to treat all waste as if it were pathological, which could result in
an increased cost passed on to the funeral home. Most important of all,
biohazard waste must be properly packaged in leak-proof containers that are
properly labeled. Any sharps waste such as needles or syringes must be first
placed in a rigid, puncture-proof container before being placed in the red
biohazard bag. Download the free funeral homes guide to managing medical waste
disposal - http://nfda.org/
3. OSHA Regulations Affect Funeral Homes
OSHA
blood-borne pathogens training that meets, hazard communication standards must
be provided to all employees who may come in contact with blood or other
potentially infectious bodily fluids during their employment. This includes
writing an exposure control plan outlining how the funeral home will protect
employees from exposure to infectious wastes. Check with your medical waste
provider to see if they have a compliance program available. Many offer online
solutions that are economical and still provide everything you need to protect
your business.3. OSHA Regulations Affect Funeral Homes
In addition to OSHA training, personal protective equipment (PPE) to prevent exposure is key. PPE can include face and eye protection, body protection, hand protection and more. Look at the nurse who recently contracted the Ebola virus after caring for a patient in Dallas with Ebola. Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Tom Frieden, said "We don't know what occurred, but at some point there was a breach in protocol." He went on to say that treating a patient with Ebola can be done safely but "even a single inadvertent slip can result in contamination." This will becoming even more vital if more patients die from Ebola and their remains may be handled by coroners and medical examiners.
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