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Planning for infectious waste disposal

Ambulatory Quality and Compliance Insider, September 1, 2009

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Although the summer months usually override the thought of flu season for healthcare workers and patients, it’s these months before the season kicks in that are most crucial for planning.

On June 11, the World Health Organization officially declared a pandemic phase six. Although the organization considers the pandemic to be moderate, organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have stressed the importance of planning for the upcoming fall flu season, when the combination of seasonal flu and novel influenza A H1N1 (swine flu) could intensify the effect on healthcare facilities.

“Moving forward, we’ll have to address two different challenges: seasonal flu, as we have each year, and novel H1N1 influenza,” newly appointed CDC director Tom Frieden, MD, said in a June 11 press conference. “We’ll be looking at those separately and how they relate to each other. This is a shared responsibility—government, healthcare providers, the private sector, and the public. All of us are in this together to respond to what can be a challenging situation.”

Although infection preventionists (IP) will be focused on employee safety and mitigating the transmission of the disease, one important planning consideration should revolve around disposing of an increase in infectious waste during a pandemic. IPs’ involvement in pandemic planning and knowledge about the flu’s infectious properties make their input vital.

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