Exposure to Blood / Needle Sticks

Protocol for medical/PA students to report an exposure/needle stick incident:

1. When an exposure/needle stick occurs, the student must immediately notify the supervising faculty member and/or clerkship/course director.
   
   
2. The student should then seek assistance from the head nurse in the area where the exposure occurred or the Erlanger house supervisor to assist in completing an Erlanger Exposure Form for Non-Employees. This form must be sent/given to Erlanger Infection Prevention.

• • • • Call 423.778.6168 to reach the house supervisor/Erlanger administrator on-call. If there is no answer, call the Erlanger operator at 423.778.7000 and ask the operator for the house supervisor.

3. The student should then notify the Chattanooga campus coordinator and UT health services:

• • • • Call 423.778.7442 (leave a message if the incident occurs after-hours) and
      • Email tiffany.nabors@erlanger.org to provide details of the incident; then
      • Report the incident at Student Needlestick Exposures Injuries | Student Health Services | UTHSC 
        • Select "General Liability" as the option for the incident form. 
        • If you have issues accessing the form, please email safety@uthsc.edu.

4. The student may be directed to report to Concentra during business hours or the Emergency Department if after hours and is determined immediate treatment is necessary. If the source patient is known to be positive for HIV or Hepatitis, the nursing supervisor may direct immediate treatment per Erlanger Health Exposure Protocol.

• • • • The nursing supervisor and administrator on-call are authorized to order baseline tests per Erlanger Health Exposure Protocol )e.g. HIV, Hepatitis panel, etc.) on the student and the source patient at no charge to either party. Erlanger Health will cover all initial evaluation (lab draw, lab processing/resulting, etc.) costs related to the exposure, however an Emergency Department visit may incur separate charges to student insurance
      • Lab reports will be sent to the Erlanger Occupational Health Office when complete
      • If the student is directed to report to the Emergency Department, the student should bring a copy of the Erlanger exposure form with them
      • Concentra and the Emergency Department will provide or prescribe Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) medications if indicated

5. The student will be financially responsible for any necessary follow-up care resulting from the exposure event once initial lab evaluation is completed. This care is coordinated between the UT Health Sciences  Student Health Services in Memphis, Erlanger Infection Prevention, and the UT Health Sciences College of Medicine – Chattanooga administrative offices.
6. The student should email direaka.brown@erlanger.org for HEPC results 3-5 days post-exposure. 

 

Concentra

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• • Account number: 1137070479
  • Clinics available:
    1. Downtown Chattanooga
       • 1206 Broad St, Suite 106, Chattanooga, TN 37402 | Hours: 8:00am-5:00pm
    2. Chattanooga Airport 
       • 6413 Lee Hwy, Suite 107, Chattanooga, TN 37421 | Hours: 8:00am-5:00pm
    3. Brainerd
       • 5779 Brainerd Rd, Chattanooga, TN 37411 | Hours: 8:30am-6:00pm