Exposure to blood and body fluids, due to needlesticks and splashes, represents real hazards to healthcare workers. Blood and body fluids can be infected with hepatitis or HIV. If you are exposed during the course of your work duties, you should follow a few steps.
- If you are splashed in the eye, rinse your eye out with water.
- If you are stuck with a needle, then clean the site with soap and water. Some people prefer using alcohol or iodine, which is fine. The important step is to clean it immediately after exposure.
Report Needlesticks
Next, you should report the exposure to both Baylor OHP and the institution in which it occurred. BCM Medical Students and/or Clinical Course Directors are to report all exposure incidents to the School of Medicine's Office of Student Affairs. OHP provides counseling to the employee or student and follow up. The institution will perform testing on the source patient. Because the procedures for this vary from hospital to hospital, it is important to follow their instructions. Below are links to the contact phone numbers at the respective institution.
If exposed, immediately wash the area. For eye or mucus membrane exposures, use water. For others, use a soap to wash wound.
Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center uses the IRIS reporter for documenting incidents which can be found by logging into The Source. This is found on a Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center computer that has Quick Tools listed including the IRIS Reporter quick link. Ensure that you click on the Green Box to open the injury form and complete in detail.
Notify the charge nurse or house supervisor to help arrange for source patient testing and reporting. Source blood should not be ordered in EPIC.
During business hours, source blood is taken to Occupational Health at Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center. Their contact number is 832-355-6040. They are located at 17 Tower Yellow Elevators. If off-site from the Medical Center, contact courier for pick-up of blood at 832-355-3053 to deliver to St. Luke’s Occupational Health or to St. Luke’s Hospital lab. After hours, source blood should be taken to the Lab at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center 1st floor by purple elevators.
Contact Baylor OHP at 713-798-7880 regarding need for prophylaxis and follow up. Please be sure to be at a phone number where you can be reached if the on-call is being contacted. If PEP is not an issue, you can contact us the next business day.
Baylor OHP can do your baseline testing the next business day and arrange required follow up testing.
If exposed, immediately wash the area. For eye or mucus membrane exposures, use water. For others, use a soap to wash wound.
Notify the Clinic Manager where the event occurred to arrange for source testing. Ask the source patient to not leave (if feasible).
A manual, paper requisition is used to order source blood. The order is not placed into the EMR. Clinic Manager or designee should use their department’s CPL clinical requisition form to ensure no patient insurance information is on the form.
Contact Baylor OHP at 713 798-7880 regarding need for prophylaxis and follow up. Please be sure to be at a phone number where you can be reached if the on-call is being contacted.
Baylor OHP can do your baseline testing and arrange required follow up testing.
If exposed, immediately wash the area. For eye or mucus membrane exposures, use water. For others, use a soap to wash wound.
Go to the VAMC Emergency Center. Source testing and your baseline testing is done through the emergency center.
Contact the VAMC Employee Health office during business hours to arrange for a follow up visit. Employee Health is located at 4B room 231, 713-794-7003.
VAMC Employee Health will provide you results of the source testing and of your testing.
Contact Baylor OHP at 713-798-7880 for additional follow up.
Provide copies of source testing results and of your testing results to Baylor OHP for your file. VAMC Employee Health does not provide OHP a copy of the results.
Exposures at Texas Children's, including Main Campus, West Campus or The Woodlands. If exposed, immediately wash the area. For eye or mucus membrane exposures, use water. For others, use a soap to wash wound.
Contact charge nurse on the unit to arrange for source testing including completing the online lab requisition.
Contact Texas Children's Employee Health 832-824-2150, option 1 or on-call person at 832-824-2099.
Report event through Texas Children's computer homepage using the RL6 event reporting link (SafetyScoop).
Contact Baylor OHP at 713-798-7880 regarding need for prophylaxis and follow up. Please be sure to be at a phone number where you can be reached if the on-call is being contacted. If PEP is not an issue, you can contact us the next business day.
Baylor OHP can do your baseline testing the next business day and arrange required follow up testing.
If exposed, immediately wash the area. For eye or mucus membrane exposures, use water. For others, use a soap to wash wound.
Arrange for source testing through a unit nurse or clerk. This entails the use of a "downtime" slip to order the testing panel for blood borne pathogen exposures. The panel includes HIV antibody, HCV antibody, and Hepatitis B surface antigen.
Typically, a rapid HIV test is done and the result is completed within two hours. Source results will be available in the patient chart.
Complete an incident report. This is found on the HHS intranet within E-Incident Reporting. You must also complete the blue folder forms and bring to Ben Taub Occupational Health, located in the BT Tower 2nd floor, Room 0607.
If PEP medication is needed, it can be prescribed by the emergency center. They may check you in as a patient (this creates a patient record and incurs a charge as it would any other patient).
Contact Baylor OHP at 713-798-7880. You should contact us at the time of exposure if you have any questions, experience issues or wish to review source results. If you are seen in the emergency center or the source results are negative, you can notify OHP the next business day.
Baylor OHP can do your baseline testing the next business day and arrange required follow up testing.
If exposed, immediately wash the area. For eye or mucus membrane exposures, use water. For others, use a soap to wash wound.
Contact Houston Methodist Employee Health during business hours from 7:00am to 4:00pm at 713-441-1391. The employee health clinic is in the Smith Tower, 5th floor by the elevator.
After hours, contact Houston Methodist Infection Control at 713-441-4324 or 713-306-7848 or page the on-call personnel at 713-404-7106.
Have the location of occurrence, name of source and MRN ready to provide to employee health and/or Infection Control.
Contact Baylor OHP at 713-798-7880 regarding need for prophylaxis and follow up. Please be sure to be at a phone number where you can be reached if the on-call is being contacted. If PEP is not an issue, you can contact us the next business day.
Baylor OHP can do your baseline testing the next business day and arrange required follow up testing.
If exposed, immediately wash the needle stick/cut exposed area with soap and water. Flush splashes to the nose, mouth, or skin with water. Irrigate eyes with clean water, saline, or other approved sterile irrigate.
Contact the BSW STIK line number at (877) 279-7845 as soon as possible for source testing then immediately contact the BCM-Temple Occupational Health Program at (254) 724-0118 to arrange for same-day post-exposure evaluation and testing.
After-hours, weekends, and holidays, contact BSW STIK line number at (877) 279-7845 as soon as possible for source testing then immediately go to the Emergency Department for same-day post-exposure evaluation and testing. Please contact the BCM-Temple Occupational Health Program next business-day at (254) 724-0118 to arrange follow-up evaluation.
Clinic Hours
7:30 a.m. - noon and 1 - 4:30 p.m.
Monday - Friday
Note: TB skin tests are not available on Thursdays.