University Employee Occupational Health Clinic

UEOHC and School of Dentistry Collaborate to Improve Compliance

Under the University’s medical surveillance program, employees working in or entering a healthcare environment are required to have a complete immunization review in accordance with CDC/HICPAC Guideline for Infection Control in Health Care Personnel. The main purpose behind the University’s medical surveillance program is to reduce and/or eliminate employee susceptibility to occupational hazards in a healthcare environment. The School of Dentistry (SOD) and UEOHC identified some inconsistencies in internal communication guidance to employees. As a result, communication clarifications were implemented and disseminated to new faculty and staff and those currently out of compliance with University procedures.

The second compliance collaboration project involved exposures-reporting education for employees. Incident investigation of an exposure is critical to post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) treatment plans and future mitigation of hazards. If an employee is involved in an exposure, it is crucial that the employee take immediate steps to care for the exposure site. The second priority is the timeliness of reporting the exposure incident to the UEOHC. For all parties involved in the exposure incident it is imperative to appropriately evaluate the exposure to determine the risk associated with the exposure. There are four key characteristics the UEOHC examines: type of exposure; infection status of source; substances posing risk; and susceptibility of employee exposed.

This collaborative review process was extremely fruitful and identified several educational gaps to which further materials were developed. Additionally, the SOD created a new position, Director of Clinical Compliance, to not only strengthen internal protocols but solidify an on-going partnership with UEOHC to enhance continuous compliance.

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