Res. No. 2058 Title Resolution calling upon the New York State Assembly to adopt A. 8627, in relation to amending the public health law to authorize and direct the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health to promulgate rules and regulations for the sterilization or other treatment of endoscopic instruments. Body By Council Members Sabini, Boyland and Golden; also Council Members Harrison, Koslowitz and Michels Whereas, Endoscopy, a procedure in which a flexible lighted instrument is used to examine hollow organs such as the stomach or bowels, has become a widely-used method of diagnosing potentially fatal medical conditions, such as colorectal cancer, in a minimally invasive manner; and Whereas, Concerns have been raised that medical clinics across the country are not properly sterilizing endoscopic instruments, resulting in a risk of transmission of various diseases to patients undergoing the procedure; and Whereas, As recently as June 2001, the New York Times reported that eight New Yorkers tested positive for hepatitis C after undergoing endoscopic procedures for gastrointestinal symptoms at the Bay Ridge Endoscopy and Digestive Health Center (Patients of Brooklyn Clinic are Sought After Outbreak of Hepatitis C, New York Times, June 9, 2001); and Whereas, The New York City Department of Health, along with the New York State Department of Health, is currently investigating whether these eight cases of hepatitis C are linked to endoscopic procedures performed at the Brooklyn clinic; and Whereas, The New York City Department of Health has contacted all patients whom have received this procedure at the Brooklyn clinic from the period of January 2000 to May 2001 to inform them of the need to be tested for hepatitis C, as well as other blood-borne disease, such as hepatitis A, B and HIV; and Whereas, According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hepatitis C is a disease of the liver that is transmitted through blood products infected by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) which results in chronic liver infection and disease; and Whereas, According to the CDC, hepatitis C is the leading cause of liver transplants in the United States; and Whereas, The New York State Assembly is currently considering a bill (A. 8627-A) which would amend the New York State Public Health law in relation to authorizing and directing the State Commissioner of Health to promulgate rules and regulations for the sterilization or other treatment of endoscopic instruments, such as the requirement of the use of protective, single-use disposable barriers on endoscopic equipment, and/or sterilization of endscopic equipment using high-level disinfectant methods; and Whereas, The implementation of such requirements would aid in reducing the risk of transmission of diseases during endoscopic procedures; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the New York City Council calls upon the New York State Assembly to adopt A. 8627, in relation to amending the public health law to authorize and direct the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health to promulgate rules and regulations for the sterilization or other treatment of endoscopic instruments. JM LS# 4446 9/6/01 |10
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