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12.06.2004
UMass Lowell Awarded $2M Grant to Protect Home Healthcare Practitioners
[Background Information]
LOWELL, Mass.—The National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has awarded
the
University of Massachusetts Lowell
a four-year $2 million grant for prevention of needlestick injuries
and blood exposures among home healthcare practitioners. UMass
Lowell (UML) will form a partnership with industry, labor and
state government to improve the working lives of those practitioners
throughout eastern and central Massachusetts.
According to the
Center for Disease Control (CDC), 600,000 to 800,000 injuries
occur annually nationwide in all healthcare
settings from needles and other sharp devices, potentially
leading to hepatitis and HIV infection. Most prevention efforts
have
been focused on hospitals, and little attention has been given
to the rapidly growing home healthcare industry, which is predicted
to increase 68 percent within the next decade. In 2000, there
were 20,655 home healthcare practitioners employed in Massachusetts
and that number is expected to nearly double by 2008, according
to First Research.
NIOSH awarded the grant to the newly-established
School of Health and Environment at UMass Lowell. Under the
leadership
of Professor
Margaret Quinn in the Department of Work Environment, the
research will identify working conditions which put home healthcare
practitioners at risk of injuries like needlesticks, work
with
the partners
to set up efficient systems for tracking and analyzing injury
patterns, and design ways to help home healthcare providers
work safely while continuing to deliver the best quality
care. The
new study is named Project SHARRP – Safe Homecare and
Risk Reduction for Providers.
"By forming diverse partnerships within
our community and by combining scientific research with education,
we'll be able to help the growing population
of home healthcare providers lead safer, healthier and more productive
lives",
said Dr. Quinn.
Other members of the research team include Dr.
Stephanie Chalupka of the Department of Nursing, Dr. David
Kriebel of
the Department of Work Environment
and Dr.
Letitia Davis, Director of the Occupational Health Surveillance Program
at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
Project SHARRP is a
collaborative effort with five leading home healthcare agencies
and labor unions: VNA Care Network, which operates within
200 communities in the region; the UMass Memorial Home Health and Hospice
in Worcester; Winchester
Home Care; the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA); and the Service
Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 2020.
"This grant perfectly reflects the mission
of our new School of Health and Environment," said
Dr. David H. Wegman, dean of UML School of Health and Environment. "We'll
be able to advance safety and quality of work life in the fast-growing
home healthcare industry, thus helping to reduce the shortage of
these professionals."
"At UMass Lowell, we want to help the economy
thrive, not just by adding jobs, but by making sure they are
jobs people want to have," said Provost
John Wooding. "That's what a sustainable economic future is all
about," he
added.
About UMass Lowell School of Health and Environment
Established
in April 2004, the School of Health and Environment at UMass
Lowell was created to promote human health and development
that enable
people to live
in safe and productive communities and environmentally sustainable
economies. The school includes the departments of Health and
Clinical Sciences,
Nursing, Physical Therapy and Work Environment.
Partner Media
Contacts
For more information from the partner organizations, contact:
VNA Care Network, Deborah Corkum, 888.663.3688, x1362; UMass
Memorial
Medical
Center, Worcester,
Mass., Alison Duffy, 508.856.2000; Winchester Hospital, 781.756.2219;
SEIU 2020, Susan Maxwell, 617.989.8010; Massachusetts Nursing
Association, David
Schildmeier, 781.249.0430; Massachusetts Department of Public
Health, Nicole St. Peter, 617.624.5006.
[Background
Information]
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