HIV-EXPOSED HEALTH CARE WORKERS' RIGHTS

WHEREAS, 5.3 million nurses and health care workers nationwide are the primary care givers to patients with the HIV (AIDS) virus and are at risk of exposure to HIV; and

WHEREAS, a health care provider who has been significantly exposed as defined by Centers for Disease Control to a patient's bodily secretions has no current right to test the patient without consent to determine whether the patient has HIV; and

WHEREAS, current medical knowledge supports the use of the drug AZT as the only possible successful method to prevent sero-conversion of the exposed individual to positive HIV; and

WHEREAS, nurses and health care workers overwhelmingly support the testing of patients for HIV without their consent, maintaining patient confidentiality, when a health care worker has been significantly exposed as defined by Centers for Disease Control:

RESOLVED, that the Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals/AFT support legislation on a state and national level that will protect the rights of health care workers who have been significantly exposed as defined by Centers for Disease Control to HIV to determine if the patient has the HIV virus in a manner that protects patient confidentiality; and

RESOLVED, that the Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals/AFT support legislation, collective bargaining proposals and any other appropriate means possible to ensure that health care workers significantly exposed to HIV in the line of duty may, at the discretion of the health care worker, receive free AZT from their employers to prevent sero-conversion and/or to treat the infection.