Fort Wayne Police Department Prevention of Bloodborne Diseases PDF

**PREVENTION OF BLOODBORNE DISEASES** **PD98-0109** **I. Purpose:** The purpose of this policy is to provide officers of the Fort Wayne Police Department with guidelines for preventing the contraction of the AIDS virus, hepatitis B and other bloodborne pathogens. **II. Policy:** It is the respo...

**PREVENTION OF BLOODBORNE DISEASES** **PD98-0109** **I. Purpose:** The purpose of this policy is to provide officers of the Fort Wayne Police Department with guidelines for preventing the contraction of the AIDS virus, hepatitis B and other bloodborne pathogens. **II. Policy:** It is the responsibility of the Fort Wayne Police Department to take all reasonable measures to allow its members to perform their duties in a safe and effective manner.  The safe performance of daily operations is threatened by the AIDS and hepatitis B viruses, and other biological agents that can be contracted through inhalation, bodily contact, or exposure to any substance containing the infectious agent, infected blood and several types of bodily secretions.  Therefore, it is the policy of this department to continuously provide employees with information and education on prevention of these diseases, provide up-to-date safety equipment and procedures that will minimize their risks of exposure and to institute post-exposure reporting evaluation and treatment for all members exposed to these diseases. **III. Definitions:** **A. **Bodily Fluids: Blood, semen and vaginal fluids or other secretions that might contain these fluids such as saliva, vomit, urine or feces. **B. **Exposure Control Plan: A written plan developed by this department and available to all employees that details the steps taken to eliminate or minimize exposure and evaluate the circumstances surrounding exposure incidents. **C. **Personal Protective Equipment: Specialized clothing or equipment worn by members for protection against the hazards of bloodborne pathogens.  This does not include standard issue uniforms and work clothes without special protective qualities **D. **Universal Precautions:. Procedures promulgated by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) that emphasize precautions based on the assumption that all blood and bodily fluids are potentially infectious of the AIDS (HIV) and hepatitis B (HBV) viruses. **IV. Procedures:** **A. **General Disease Prevention Guidelines **1. **The Fort Wayne Police Department's exposure control plan shall provide the overall strategy for limiting exposure to HIV, HBV, and other infectious viruses and agents responding to potential exposure incidents.  The plan is available for review by all members when requested through their immediate supervisor. **2. **The department subscribes to the principles and practices for prevention of HIV and HBV exposure as detailed in the "Universal Precautions" prescribed by the CDC and the federal regulations of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.  Where otherwise not detailed in this policy, officers will be guided by these practice and procedures. **B. **Infectious Diseases Covered **1. **Those diseases covered by these guidelines are those that are airborne, blood borne, or an uncommon or rare disease that may include the following: **a.** Infectious pulmonary tuberculosis; **b. **Hepatitis B; **c.** HIV and AIDS; **d.** Diphtheria; **e. **Hemorrhagic fevers; **f.  **Meningococcal disease **g. **Anthrax **h. **Smallpox **i. **Plague **j. **Other infectious agents, and **k.** Rabies. **C. **Employee Responsibilities **1. **Employees shall utilize gloves, masks and eye protection in order to reduce their risk of being exposed to these diseases.  In emergency circumstances, they should consider all body fluids as potentially hazardous.  Fort Wayne Police Department employees should exercise caution to avoid needle stick injuries. **2.** Employees when responding to a potentially threatening incident that may involve suspected infectious agents shall  exercise extreme caution when approaching the location. **D. **Suspicious Biological Threats **1. **Threat Characteristics **b. **Suspicious envelopes or packages that may include; **(1) **Excessive postage; **(2)** Handwritten or poorly typed addresses; **(3) **Incorrect titles; **(4) **Title only, no name; **(5) **Misspelled common words; **(6) **Oily stains, discolorations, or odors; **(7) **No return address; **(8) **Excessive weight; **(9) **Lopsided or uneven envelope; **(10) **Protruding wires or aluminum foil; **(11)** Excessive packing security material i.e., tape, string etc; **(12)** Ticking sounds; **(13)** Marked with restrictive endorsements i.e., "Personal" or "Confidential;" **(14)** Displays a city or state in the postmark that does not match return address **2. **Dispatching Protocols **a. **Upon receipt of a suspicious or suspected chemical or biological contaminated mail complaint, the 911 Communications will first dispatch the appropriate Haz-Mat and or Fire Rescue Unit to examine the item(s) to determine the credibility of the threat.  FWPD officers will be dispatched to assist. **(1)** Depending upon the preliminary testing and threat assessment, the FWPD may be summoned to the scene to initiate a criminal investigation and/or provide crime scene protection, traffic control, or assist with evacuations. **(2)** If the threat is considered credible, a uniform police supervisor will notify the Investigative/Support Division Detective Bureau.  A detective and an investigative supervisor will respond to the scene and initiate a criminal investigation.  If the investigation is received during C-Shift hours, 911 Communications will page the On-Call Homicide Team.  The On-Call Homicide Team Supervisor will contact communications to determine how many detectives are needed to respond and then convey this information to the On-Call Team. **(3)** Uniform Officers involved and detectives will prepare thorough reports detailing the circumstances of their involvement and of the complaint.  All reports will fully identify all persons (civilian, EMS, Fire, Police) who participated in the investigation, and anyone who may have been exposed to the suspicious item. **(4) **Only authorized Fire Department personnel will handle the suspicious item.  The Fire Department will take several digital photographs of the evidence prior to packaging and decontamination, and will provide the  photos to the assigned police investigator(s). **(5) **The Fire Department will transport the evidence to a secure Fire Department containment facility.  The assigned police detective(s) will accompany the Fire Department representatives to the storage area for the purposes of documenting continuity of the evidence. **(6) **Once the evidence has been secured, the assigned Investigative Division Supervisor will make immediate contact with the Deputy Chief and or Captain of the Investigative Support Division and the designated Duty Chief to brief them on the circumstances of the event.  A voice-mail or e-mail message will not suffice.  The Investigative Division Supervisor will not end their tour of duty until personal contact has been made. **(7)** The Investigative/Support Division Commanders, in association with the FWPD Crime Lab, will coordinate the transfer of evidence to the State Board of Health Laboratory in Indianapolis, IN. **(8) **The Investigative/Support Division will disseminate test results to the appropriate  responsible parties. **3. **Dispatcher Responsibilities Upon Receiving Call **a.** Dispatcher should ask whether envelope or package is open/unopened. **b. **If open, dispatcher should instruct caller to keep everyone inside and that nobody should leave the building or location. **c.** Dispatcher should instruct the caller to shut off ventilation systems, air conditioners, fans and to close all windows and doors. **d. **Dispatcher should ask the caller the reason for suspicion i.e., powder substance, vapors, odors etc. **e.** Dispatcher should instruct the caller to tell them when  Haz-Mat/or Fire Rescue Officers  arrive and to meet them outside. **4.** Officer Responsibilities When Appropriate Response **a.** Unopened Letter, Packages, Containers **1) **On arrival, officer(s) will not shake, open or empty containers to determine contents; **2) **If you are unable to immediately bag the container, cover with anything at hand i.e., coat, paper, trash can etc. **3) **If  possible double bag item(s) in clear, zip-lock type bags. Then bag in red Biohazard Bag. **4) **Notify  911 Communications Dispatcher, FWFD Hazmat personnel. **b.** In all suspicious cases, responding officer(s) will at least wear protective, disposable gloves and masks if appropriate. **c.** Opened Letter, Package, Container Response **1) **If you come upon an  unopened suspicious container and you arrive and find it opened and you are exposed, you must stay in the building  or location where found.. **2)** Instruct all occupants to remain in the building or at location affected; **3)** Identify anyone having left the building before your arrival; **4) **Notify Communications and FWFD Hazmat personnel of the possible exposure and inform those present that they must be decontaminated for safety; **5) **All contaminated individuals will be decontaminated outside and at the scene before being transported to the hospital for examination **6) **If on arrival, suspicious contents have been spilled from open containers do not attempt to clean-up or retrieve the contents, do not disturb the air around the area, remove all parties to an outside location and keep them together. **D. **Workplace Controls and Personal Protective Equipment **1. **In order to minimize potential exposure, officers should assume that all persons are potential carriers of HIV and HBV and other infectious agents. **2. **When appropriate protective equipment is available, no member shall refuse to arrest or otherwise physically handle any person who may carry the HIV or HBV viruses or has been exposed to any infectious agent. **3. **Members will use protective gear under all appropriate circumstances unless the member can demonstrate that in a specific instance, its use would have prevented the effective delivery of public safety services or would have imposed an increased hazard to his/her safety or the safety of another co-worker. **a. **All such instances will be reported by the member and shall be investigated and appropriately documented to determine if changes could be instituted to prevent similar occurrences in the future. **4. **Disposable gloves will be worn when handling any persons, clothing or equipment with bodily fluids on them or when investigating a potentially infectious exposure incident. **5.** Masks in combination with eye protection devices, such as goggles or glasses with solid side shields or chin-length face shields, shall be worn whenever splashes, spray, spatter or droplets of potentially infectious materials may be generated and eye, nose or mouth contamination can be reasonably anticipated. **6. **Gowns, aprons, lab coats, clinic jackets or other outer garments will be worn as determined by the degree of exposure anticipated. **7.** Plastic mouthpieces or other authorized barrier/resuscitation devices shall be used whenever an officer performs CPR or mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. **8.** All sharp instruments such as knives, scalpels and needles will be handled with extraordinary care and should be considered contaminated items. **a. **Leather gloves or their protective equivalent will be worn when searching persons or places or dealing in infectious environments, such as suspicious or known biological contaminations, accident scenes etc., where sharp objects, viruses,  and bodily fluids may reasonably be encountered. **b. **Searches of automobiles or other places should be conducted using a flashlight, mirror or other devices where appropriate.  Subsequent to a cautious frisk of outer garments, suspects should be required to empty their pockets or purses and to remove all sharp objects from their person. **c. **Needles shall not be recapped, bent, broken removed from a disposable syringe or otherwise manipulated by hand. **d.** Needles will be placed in departmentally provided, puncture-resistant, leak proof containers that are marked as biohazardous when being collected for evidence, disposal or transportation purposes. **9. **Officers will not smoke, eat, or drink  around biological exposures and bodily fluid spills. **10. **Any evidence contaminated with bodily fluids will be completely dried, double bagged and marked to identify potential or known communicable disease contamination. **E. **Custody and Transportation of Prisoners **1.** Officers will not put their fingers in or near any person's mouth. **2.** Individuals with bodily fluids on their persons will be transported in separate vehicles from other persons.  The individual may be required to wear a suitable protective covering if he/she is bleeding or otherwise emitting bodily fluids. **3.** Officers have an obligation to notify relevant support personnel during a transfer of custody when the suspect has bodily fluids present on his/her person, or has stated that he/she have been exposed to or has a communicable disease. **4. **Officers will document on the appropriate arrest or incident report when a suspect taken into custody had bodily fluids on his/her person, or has stated that he/she has a communicable disease. **F.** Housekeeping Guidelines **1. **Supervisors and their employees are responsible for the maintenance of a clean and sanitary workplace and will conduct periodic inspections to ensure that these conditions are maintained. **2.** All supervisory personnel shall determine and implement written schedules for cleaning and decontamination based on the location within the facility or work environment, the type of surface or equipment to be cleaned, the type of soil present and the tasks and procedures to be performed in the area. **3.** All equipment and environmental and work surfaces must be cleaned and decontaminated after contact with blood and other potentially infectious materials as provided in this policy. **4.** Any protective coverings used in laboratory, evidence custody or enforcement operations for covering surfaces or equipment will be removed or replaced as soon as possible following actual or possible contamination. **5. **Bins, pails and similar receptacles used to hold actual or potentially contaminated items shall be labeled as biohazardous, decontaminated as soon as possible and inspected on a regular scheduled basis. **6. **Broken and potentially contaminated glassware, needles or other sharp instruments will not be retrieved by hand but by other mechanical means and will not be stored in a manner that requires that they be retrieved manually. **7. **Officers will remove clothing that has been contaminated with bodily fluids as soon as practical and with as little handling as possible.  Any contacted skin area will be cleansed in the prescribed manner. **8.** Contaminated laundry and personal protective equipment will be bagged or containerized at the location where it is used in departmentally approved leak proof containers but shall not be sorted, rinsed or cleaned at that location. **9. **Departmental personnel working within this agency's crime scene/crime lab areas will adhere to policy and procedures contained herein but shall refer to and also adhere to special safety procedures established for the laboratory and crime scene workplace. **10.** Only employees specifically designated by the Chief of Police will discard actual or potentially contaminated waste materials.  All such disposal will conform with established federal, state and local regulations. **G. **Disinfection Procedures **1. **Any unprotected skin surface that comes into contact with bodily fluids, or infectious materials or agents will be thoroughly washed as soon as possible with hot running water and soap for a least 15 seconds before rinsing and drying. **2.** Alcohol or antiseptic towelettes may be used where soap and water are not available. **3. **Disposable gloves should be rinsed before removal and hands and forearms should be washed. **4.** Skin surfaces will be washed and mucous membranes flushed as soon as possible following removal of any personal protective equipment. **5. **Hand lotion should be applied after disinfections to prevent chapping and to seal cracks and cuts on the skin. **6.** All open cuts and abrasions will be covered with waterproof bandages before reporting to duty. **7. **Disinfection procedures will be initiated whenever bodily fluids are spilled or an individual with bodily fluids on his person is transported in a departmentally owned vehicle, or when the officer(s) have been exposed or have come into skin contact with any infectious virus or agent. **a. **A supervisor will be notified and the vehicle taken to the garage as soon as possible. **b.** Affected vehicles will be immediately designated with the posting of an "Infectious Disease Contamination" sign upon arrival at the garage and while waiting to be disinfected. **c. **Service personnel will remove bodily fluids from the vehicle with an absorbent cloth, paying special attention to any crack, crevices or seams that may be holding bodily fluids. **d.** All police vehicles taken to the garage for routine cleaning should have the interior cleaned with a 10/1 solution of bleach and water. **8. **Nondisposable equipment and areas upon which bodily fluids or infectious agents  have been spilled will be disinfected as follows: **a. **Any excess bodily fluids will first be wiped up with approved disposable absorbent materials.  Incidents involving infectious biological exposure will be handled by the FWFD Hazmat Team. **b. **A freshly prepared solution of one part bleach to 10 parts water or a fungicidal mycobactericidal disinfectant will be used to clean the area or equipment. **H. **Supplies Providing Protection From Exposure **1. **Supervisors are responsible for continuously maintaining an adequate supply of disease control supplies in a convenient location for all affected personnel.  This includes but is not limited to, ensuring that: **a. **Personal protective equipment in appropriate sizes, quantities and locations are made available. **b.** Hypoallergenic gloves and other materials are available for those who are allergic to materials normally provided; and **c. **First aid supplies and disinfecting materials are readily available at all times. **2. **All departmental vehicles will be continuously stocked with the following communicable disease control supplies: **a.** Personal protective equipment in appropriate size and quantities for affected personnel to include face and eye protective devices, coveralls, disposable gloves and booties, puncture resistant and leak proof containers for needles and other sharp objects, barrier resuscitation equipment and leak proof plastic bags. **b.** Liquid germicidal cleaner. **c.** Disposable towelettes (70 percent isopropyl alcohol). **d. **Waterproof bandages. **e.** Absorbent cleaning materials. **f.  **"Isolation Area Do Not Enter" signs. **3.** Officers using supplies stored in their vehicles are responsible for ensuring that they are replenished when used. **4. **Officers are required to keep disposable gloves in their possession while on either motor or foot patrol. **I.**  Exposure Plan The purpose of the Exposure Plan's purpose is to outline procedures to be followed in the event a Fort Wayne Police Department employee is exposed to a potentially life-threatening infectious disease during the course of an emergency and on duty.  An initial investigation will be conducted and the employee will be notified within 48 hours of the investigations findings.  The employee will then be advised of any subsequent initial treatment recommended by trained medical personnel. **1. **Reporting Procedures **a.** If a department employee suspects that he/she was exposed to a life-threatening infectious disease during the performance of normal job duties, the employee will immediately contact his/her supervisor to report the incident. IMPORTANT: The initial medical evaluation must take place within one to two hours after the exposure incident. **b. **The employee and his/her supervisor will complete an "Infectious Disease Exposure" form to determine whether or not the employee has had an actual and not perceived exposure. **c. **If the employee's supervisor determines that an actual exposure occurred, a written request for an investigation will be forwarded to the medical facility to which the "patient" involved was transported.  The exposure form will be submitted along with the investigation request. **d. **A copy of the same information will be faxed to "Business Health Services (Bus. Tx 260-436-2273 located at 5932 W. Jefferson Blvd.) is the authorized and designated as a medical provider to the City of Fort Wayne and they will coordinate the investigation with the medical facility. **3. **Investigation Steps and Procedures **a. **All information will be faxed to 260-435-7747.  If the exposure occurs after normal business hours, or on a weekend or holiday, notify the Commander of the Day and call BHS Emergency Call Number 260-969-2015. **b.** BHS will contact the employee to discuss the details of the exposure incident. **c. **BHS will contact the medical facility where the involved patient was transported/treated. **d.** A BHS doctor or his appointed BHS alternate, will be notified of the exposure incident.  It will be determined if the employee should undergo a medical evaluation at that time (prior to the response by the hospital regarding the patient's infectious disease status). **e.** If a medical evaluation is deemed necessary by the BHS doctor, BHS will contact the employee and advise him/her of the recommendation to go to BHS for risk assessment or treatment. **f. ** The hospital must respond to the written request for investigation as soon as practical, but not later that 48 hours after the termination of exposure is made.  The response is also necessary if the victim is found to a carrier of any of the listed infectious diseases.  The written response is to be sent by fax to BHS as authorized.  The response will be evaluated by BHS doctor to ascertain if further treatment intervention is indicated. **g.** BHS will notify the employee of the outcome of the hospital's investigation/determination and advise him/her of any subsequent treatment that is recommended by the doctor or his designee. **h.** Following a documented exposure, the department will immediately make available to the exposed employee confidential medical treatment and or counseling. **5. **Employees Testing Positive for Infectious Diseases **a.** Officers who test positive for any infectious disease may continue to work as long as they maintain acceptable performance and do not pose a safety and health threat to themselves, the public or other members of the department. **(1) **The Fort Wayne Police Department will make all decisions concerning the employee's work status solely on the medical opinions and advice of the agency's health care provider. **(2) **The department may require an employee to be examined by the department's health care provider to determine if he/she is able to perform their duties without hazard to himself/herself or others. **(3) **All members of the Fort Wayne Police Department will treat employees who have contracted a communicable disease fairly, courteously and with dignity. **6. **Record Keeping **a.** The Fort Wayne Police Department will maintain an accurate record for each employee experiencing an occupational exposure that includes information on vaccination status; the results of all examinations, tests and follow-up procedures; the health care provider's written opinion; and other relevant information. **b. **These health care records will be retained in a secure area with limited access for the duration of the member's employment plus 30 years and may not be disclosed or reported without the express written consent of the member. **7.** Training **a.** The Fort Wayne Police Department's Training Director will coordinate and ensure that all prospective members of the department are provided with a complete course of instruction on prevention of bloodborne diseases prior to their initial assignment. **b.** All prospective members of the department shall have access to applicable federal and state regulations concerning bloodborne pathogens and the danger they pose for public safety workers. **c.** Periodic in-service training will be provided by the Training Director to all members of the department on the prevention and treatment of exposure to infectious diseases.  The training records, including names, dates and location of training will be maintained for a period of at least three years.