Naomi Judd Joins Nurses for Press Conference Calling for Safer Needle Devices

American Nurses Association 600 Maryland Avenue SW; Suite 100 West Washington, DC 20024-2571 202-651-7018 202-651-7005 fax

MEDIA ADVISORY For Immediate Release: June 22, 1998

CONTACT: Sara Foer, 202-651-7023 (to leave a message); [email protected]; June 25-July 1: 619-525-6303; http://www.nursingworld.org

***EMBARGO NOTE: All ANA convention presentations are embargoed until the date and local time of the presentation.***

Naomi Judd Joins Nurses for Press Conference Calling for Safer Needle Devices; Country Music Superstar Naomi Judd Shares Her Experiences About Contracting Hepatitis C From A Workplace Injury as a Nurse; Lynda Arnold, Founder and President of the National Campaign for Healthcare Worker Safety, Inc., Explains How She Was Infected with HIV While Caring for a Patient

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The American Nurses Association (ANA) is holding a press conference to raise public awareness of the need for safer needle stick devices, and the fact that inappropriate safety precautions implemented by health care institutions can result in disability or death for health care workers, the largest group of whom are nurses. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nurses and other health care workers have a 1 in 300 chance of acquiring AIDS through a needle stick injury and a 1 in 6 chance of contracting Hepatitis B. American health care workers report more than 800,000 needle sticks and sharps injuries each year; however, the numbers of needle stick injuries are considered to be under reported. Approximately 80% of blood contacts occur through needle sticks, making them the most common cause of health care worker-related exposure to bloodborne pathogens.

Event: ANA Press Conference on Occupational Health Injuries and Need for Safer Needle Devices

Speakers: * Beverly L. Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN, President, American Nurses Association; * Lynda Arnold, RN, Founder and President, National Campaign for Healthcare Worker Safety, Inc.; * Naomi Judd, Country Music Superstar and RN

Date: Saturday, June 27, 1998, 11:00 a.m.

Location: San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, CA; Media Briefing Room 7A

Contact: Sara Foer, 202-651-7023 to leave a message; June 25-July 1, call 619-525-6303

Note to Media: Naomi Judd will give the keynote address at the ANA Convention in Exhibit Hall C at 9:15 am on Saturday, June 27.