Chapter 1: OSHA and CDC Compliance for New Jersey Funeral Professionals (Mandatory) 1 CE Hour
By: Deborah Converse Learning outcomes
system from hazardous materials in the mortuary setting according to OSHA and CDC guidelines. List five guidelines from the OSHA Formaldehyde Protection Standard. Identify and define the Standard Precautions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that apply to mortuary and funeral procedures. Board of Mortuary Science and updated in June 2016 (New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, 2016). The OSHA and CDC guidelines will be summarized to include sections specific to the funeral profession. Recent revisions to CDC guidelines were made in response to additional precautions for handling deceased patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CDJ); variant CDJ (vCDJ); bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or “mad cow disease”; and Ebola (CDC, 2015). health outcomes. Addressing implicit bias in healthcare is crucial for achieving equity in medical treatment. Strategies to combat these biases involve education and awareness programs for healthcare professionals. These programs help individuals recognize and acknowledge their biases, fostering a more empathetic and unbiased approach to patient care. Additionally, implementing policies and procedures prioritizing equitable treatment for all patients can play a pivotal role in reducing healthcare disparities. Ultimately, confronting implicit bias in healthcare is essential to creating a more just and equitable healthcare system where everyone receives fair and equal treatment regardless of their background or characteristics. Employees in the funeral profession face a variety of health hazards when recovering, handling, or working near human remains. According to OSHA, workers directly involved are susceptible to bloodborne viruses, such as hepatitis and HIV, and bacteria that cause diarrheal diseases, such as shigella and salmonella, to name a few (OSHA, 2015).
After completing this course, the learner will be able to: List and explain the OSHA guidelines for the prevention of the transmission of bloodborne pathogens in the mortuary setting. Identify the appropriate personal protective equipment to protect the eyes, face, hands, feet, and respiratory Course overview This course provides information on the Occupational Health and Safety and Administration (OSHA) guidelines for employees in the funeral profession. These guidelines, including bloodborne pathogen training, are based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Universal Precautions to protect workers against infection and transmission of disease. Employees in the funeral profession are required to complete a course on this topic according to The New Jersey Administrative Code: Title 13 Law and Public Safety, Chapter 26, developed by the professionals perceive and make treatment decisions, ultimately resulting in disparities in health outcomes. These biases, often unconscious and unintentional, can shape behavior and produce differences in medical care along various lines, including race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, and socioeconomic status. Healthcare disparities stemming from implicit bias can manifest in several ways. For example, a healthcare provider might unconsciously give less attention to a patient or make assumptions about their medical needs based on race, gender, or age. The unconscious assumptions can lead to delayed or inadequate care, misdiagnoses, or inappropriate treatments, all of which can adversely impact Introduction The New Jersey Administrative Code: Title 13 Law and Public Safety, Chapter 26 details the health and safety guidelines to protect all employees in the funeral profession. Chapter 26 references standards and guidelines from The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Implicit bias in healthcare Implicit bias significantly affects how healthcare
UNIVERSAL PRECAUTIONS
The CDC includes the mortuary and funeral personnel under the category of health care workers (HCW.) The UP guidelines were the foundation for OSHA’s 1991 development of precautions to prevent occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens in health care settings that include the funeral industry. OSHA defines bloodborne pathogens as pathogenic microorganisms that are present in human blood and can cause disease in humans (OSHA, 2012). These pathogens include, but are not limited to, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Universal Precautions (UP) is the practice of avoiding contact with bodily fluids by means of the wearing of nonporous articles, such as gloves, goggles, and face shields (Siegel et al., 2007). The practice was introduced in 1985. In 1996, this term was replaced with Standard Precautions. The CDC defines Standard Precautions as, “a set of precautions designed to prevent transmission of HIV, Hepatitis B virus (HBV), and other bloodborne pathogens when providing first aid or health care” (Siegel et al., 2007). Under Standard Precautions, blood and certain body fluids of all patients are considered potentially infectious for HIV, HBV, and other bloodborne pathogens (Siegel et al., 2007).
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Book Code: FNJ0524
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