I am regularly working on behind the scenes reviewing various library policies, both to keep my memory fresh regarding our existing policies and to keep an eye out for policies in need of updating. There are a lot of policies that could use very minor tweaks, so my plan is to start bringing those to your attention one at a time in the coming months. My hope is that these will be quick and painless reviews, for the most part.
The first such review is our existing Bloodborne Pathogen Policy. This is a simple policy that was mandated by statute back in the 1990s. It simply lays out how the library will handle potentially contagious body fluids, which is something that staff do have occasion to come into contact with every once in a while.
The two proposed revisions are changing the wording of “Palos Community Hospital” to the more general “medical” personnel. The previous wording would seem to require staff to only seek treatment at our local hospital. It seems prudent that we might want to allow an exposed staff member to seek treatment from medical personnel at another institution, should circumstances warrant.
The other change is to put this policy on the triennial review track rather than the annual review schedule. I believe this is warranted as the content of this policy is unlikely to change at all from one year to the next.
Recommendation: I recommend that you approve the revised Bloodborne Pathogen Policy.
Recommendation: I recommend that you approve the revised Bloodborne Pathogen Policy.