The Cape May County Department of Health (CMCDH) hosted the first meeting of the Cape May County Advisory Group for Safe Injection Practices on November 29th. The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (NJDHSS) joined a national coalition this fall to promote safe injection practices. As part of their participation, the State selected Cape May County to assist them in a pilot project to raise healthcare provider and patient awareness. The project is a partnership between NJDHSS, the County Department of Health and Cape Regional Medical Center.

Since 1999, more than 125,000 patients in the United States have been notified that they might have been exposed to hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and HIV due to lapses in basic infection control practices. Many of these lapses involved healthcare providers reusing syringes, resulting in contamination of medication vials or containers that were then used on subsequent patients. By practicing the national campaign’s slogan, One Needle, One syringe, and Only One Time for each and every injection, the risk of contracting hepatitis and other infections through medical injection will be greatly reduced.

“There have been several recent investigations of healthcare associated infections in New Jersey,” said Health Officer Kevin Thomas. “These infections are completely preventable and we are pleased to work on this project with the State and Cape Regional Medical Center to reinforce safe injection practices that will reduce this type of infection.”

The Cape May County Advisory Group for Safe Injection Practices will be working with the State over the upcoming year to provide them with feedback on best practices, advice on disseminating messages to the public and to healthcare providers and review of guidance documents.

“The Department of Health very much appreciates the participation of so many of our healthcare professionals at the first meeting,” said Thomas. “It sets up the framework for an excellent collaboration between the County and the State Departments of Health. The work we do here will be used to expand the program to increase awareness of healthcare providers throughout New Jersey. We would like to extend our thanks to the following healthcare providers who were present at the initial meeting:

Stacy Adams-Dotts, RN, Infection Control, Crest Haven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
Robert Beitman, MD, Gastroenterologist
Rebekah Brevard, DMD, Cape Atlantic Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons
Carol Burley, CRNA, Nurse Anesthetist, Department of Anesthesiology, Cape Regional Medical Center
Domenic Coletta, MD, Cape Emergency Physicians, Cape Regional Medical Center
Ginger Cowell, RN, APN, Cape Urgent Care
Kenneth Cramer, MD, Cape Urgent Care
Michael Dudnick, DO, FACEP, Medical Director, Emergency Services, Cape Regional Medical Center
Bridget Farrell, RN, CIC, CPHQ, Director, Infection Prevention and Employee Wellness, Cape Regional Medical Center
Fran Hrubos, RN, Director of Nursing, AtlantiCare Surgery Center
Lauren McCarthy, PharmD, Clinical Coordinator, Cape Regional Medical Center
Robyn Moloney, RN, Mobile Intensive Care Nurse, CCU & ED, AtlantiCare
Ashok Patel, MD, Chair, Department of Anesthesiology, Cape Regional Medical Center
Joseph Tordella, DO, Medical Director, Cape May County
Sandy Tzaferos, PharmD, President and Director of Pharmacy, Medilink Homecare

Information on the One and Only Campaign can be found at www.oneandonlycampaign.org