All Points Medical Waste Blog

Compliance and Safety Training

Why Is it Important?

Any organization that generates medical waste must have a compliance and safety training program. It’s vital to ensure that your facility remains compliant, but also that all staff members who handle, store, manage or dispose of waste are doing so properly. Training helps reduce the risk of injury and illness among your employees and protects patients, visitors and the community as a whole. And for medical waste generators, compliance is legally required.

How Often Are You Training?

A key aspect to consider is how often you are training your team. Studies show that consistency is crucial when it comes to training- companies that do not implement ongoing training programs can risk hefty fines for non-compliance as well as the danger of injury to their staff. Here are some guidelines for training programs:

  • Designate a staff member to manage training schedules
  • Implement waste handling, storage and disposal training as part of your onboarding process
  • Mandate scheduled training on a regular basis

OSHA Standards for Specific Medical Waste Training

According to OSHA, the most frequent citations issued for improper medical waste relate to the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard. In this case, it’s highly recommended that all staff who handle bloodborne pathogens (including bodily fluids and blood) are trained at least annually. Of course, as new employees come onboard, they must be trained before handling any medical waste.

In addition, OSHA requirements include training employees on a yearly basis that include the following topics:

  • Bloodborne Pathogens
  • Hazcom
  • HIPAA
  • DOT
  • Fire Safety
  • Electrical Safety

Transportation Training

In addition to OSHA, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has training requirements that must be adhered to to ensure compliance and safety. DOT mandates that any team members who are involved in the transportation of medical waste, including managing and providing medical waste manifests, must participate in training once per year.

As a medical waste generator, ensuring that your staff is properly trained is key to your success and future. All Points Medical Waste is a full-service medical waste disposal provider serving businesses throughout South Florida. We provide online OSHA training for your employees that can be conducted as a group or with individual staff members. Give us a call today or fill out this form to learn more.

Dawn Connelly

Dawn is the vice president of All Points Medical Waste. All Points Medical Waste is a family-owned and operated medical waste disposal and compliance company that has been serving the Treasure Coast, Palm Beaches, and surrounding areas since 1994.
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