UTRGV staff member suffers needle wound after protocol breach

The Rider files public information request to learn more details

Alejandra Yañez | THE RIDER

A UTRGV staff member was punctured Feb. 3 by an exposed syringe needle while emptying trash on the Edinburg campus after an employee failed to follow protocol at a vaccination station, officials say.

The Rider filed a public information request for the police report regarding the incident. The newspaper requested the report from the UTRGV Office of Legal Affairs last Thursday but as of press time Friday, it had not received it.

Under the Texas Public Information Act, institutions are required to “promptly produce” the requested records unless, within 10 business days, it seeks an attorney general’s opinion.

According to a Feb. 5 UTRGV PD Admin Report, University Police stated that the staff member “sustained a needle puncture from a syringe to her left leg.”

“The syringe was protruding from a trash bag,” the injury report states. “The staff member stated after the incident, she informed her supervisor and was medically evaluated by medical personnel at the UTRGV Health Clinic. The needle was later properly disposed of by clinic staff.”

Asked why this incident occurred, Doug Arney, vice president for Administrative Support Services and chair of the UTRGV Infectious Disease Committee, told The Rider via email that an individual failed to comply with medical waste disposal regulations, specifically, the disposal of sharps into an approved sharps container.

Arney said custodians contacted Environmental Health, Safety and Risk Management and implemented the bloodborne pathogens response plan to aid the victim.

Patrick Gonzales, associate vice president for University Marketing and Communications, said protocol was not followed in this situation.

“First of all, once the syringe is used, the protocol is to put the cap back on the syringe and to dispose of the syringe in a bio-hazardous container,” Gonzales said. “They’re special receptacles where you put the shot in there and there’s a special way to remove those and in this instance, the protocol was not followed.”

He said the employee did not follow protocol and disposed of the syringe with the needle exposed without a cap in a regular trash bin.

Asked what measures the university has taken to ensure this does not happen again, Gonzales replied, “This is a great opportunity to reeducate our staff and our employees. We’re at a point where we’re at a max-vaccination situation and so, we’re giving hundreds of shots daily and this is a good opportunity to remind those who are distributing shots of the correct way to do so.”

Asked about the staff member’s current status, Gonzales replied that information is protected by health care policy.