Century Park Blog

Needlesticks are a common occurrence for Health Care Workers (HCW) and it is estimated that upwards of 800,000 injuries occur per year in the United States. Of these, many go unreported. While needlestick injuries have the potential to transmit bacteria, protozoa, viruses and more; the risk of hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV are the highest. As a care provider, the risk can be as high as 10% for hepatitis C alone. Luckily, there are ways we can keep our caregivers safe, when providing care, that puts them at risk of contracting blood borne pathogens.

Century Park is committed to safeguard our residents and associates by the continued education of our Safety with Sharps program. Upon hire, and annually thereafter, our caregivers are all assigned a course that demonstrates the use of approved safer sharps equipment. By participating in our Safety with Sharps program we can reduce the risk of our Century Park family facing uncertainty surrounding their infection status during the initial stages of the injury and facing the life changing consequences if they develop a disease. This understandably severe emotional and mental trauma can be avoided by taking the necessary steps to prevent needlesticks. Please do your part by using and providing Century Park approved safer medical devices & sharps containers. Approved devices include those that are needleless or have built-in protection to guard associates from exposure to contaminated sharps.

Thank you for partnering with us in our commitment to protect our Century Park family. Together, we can continue our commitment to create a climate where people feel valued and where residents and associates thrive. Safety of our residents and associates is and will remain our top priority.