A Call for Easier Safety Device Classification

Marilyn Hanchett, RN, PhD, is the Coordinator, Clinical Pathways & Outcomes, at Columbia Regional Hospital, University of Missouri Health System, in Columbia, Missouri.

Julie Naunheim-Hipps, BS, CRNI, is an oncology specialist and infusion therapy specialist. She helped lead the battle to pass the new Missouri state law, Senate Bill 266, mandating all public and private healthcare facilities provide needlestick-safety technology for use by healthcare workers. She currently is undergoing combination therapy for Hepatitis C; which she developed as a result of a needlestick injury she received while providing homecare services. She is on the Board of Directors for the 3rd District of the Missouri Nurses Association and received the 2001 Award for Achievement in Clinical Nursing Practice from the Missouri Nurses Association.