B. Braun Focused on Helping Educate Nurses About USP < 800 > and Improving Vascular Access at INS 2016

BETHLEHEM, PA--(Marketwired - May 13, 2016) - As a leader in infusion therapy with a commitment to enhancing clinician safety, B. Braun Medical Inc. will focus on awareness and education of USP < 800 > compliance, the handling of hazardous drugs in healthcare settings, and improving vascular access at this year's Infusion Nursing Society (INS) Conference.

The conference will be held May 14-19, at the Greater Ft. Lauderdale Convention Center, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, and B. Braun once again will sponsor two Exhibitor Theater presentation sessions.

The first Exhibitor Theater session -- "Empowering Nurses and Improving Safety - Making the Case for Building Safer Systems to Reduce Exposures to Hazardous Drugs" -- will feature Amber Hogan Mitchell, DrPH, MPH, CPH, President of The Public's Health and President/Executive Director International Safety Center. Mitchell will present evidence on why protection from hazardous drugs is important and how nurses advocate for change in their facilities. The session will take place on Monday, May 16, 2016, 10:10 a.m.-11:00 a.m., in Exhibitor Theater A, Aisle 200.

"USP < 800 > requires the use of a closed-system drug transfer device (CSTD) for administration of hazardous drugs when the dosage form allows," said Joe Cleary, Group Product Director for OnGuard^®, B. Braun's CSTD. "As one of the leading suppliers of CSTDs in the United States, we feel it's our responsibility to help nurses learn how to take proactive steps to protect patients, co-workers and themselves."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that about 8 million U.S. healthcare workers are potentially exposed to hazardous drugs, including pharmacy and nursing personnel, physicians, operating room personnel, environmental services workers, workers in research laboratories, veterinary care workers, and shipping and receiving personnel.¹ According to the CDC, published studies have shown that workplace exposures to hazardous drugs can cause both acute and chronic health effects such as skin rashes, adverse reproductive outcomes (including infertility, spontaneous abortions, and congenital malformations), and possibly leukemia and other cancers. The health risk depends on how much exposure a worker has to these drugs and how toxic they are.¹

At B. Braun's booth #702, attendees will learn how to integrate CSTDs into their health system, and learn more about the OnGuard CSTD and B. Braun's robust portfolio of safety-engineered IV therapy devices that help protect healthcare workers.

The second Exhibitor Theater session -- "Strategies to Address Difficult Peripheral Vascular Access" -- will feature Gregory J. Schears, MD, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. Schears will discuss challenges and site access key points to help the audience enhance their use of various technologies to improve patient care. The presentation will take place on Tuesday, May 17, 2016, 10:10 a.m.-11:00 a.m., in Exhibitor Theater B, Aisle 700.

"B. Braun is passionately committed to providing innovative, safety-engineered IV therapy devices that offer patient protection against infection and optimum safety for clinicians in the workplace," said Tom Sutton, Vice President of Vascular Access Systems at B. Braun. "We also fully support improving clinical outcomes by advocating for the use of ultrasound-guided peripheral access.

"Catheter-related bloodstream infections, needlestick injuries and exposure to potentially deadly blood borne pathogens continue to be major issues facing all healthcare professionals," Sutton said. "Through our products and educational efforts, B. Braun has taken a leadership role in addressing these issues head-on."

For more details on these presentations, visit www.bbrauninsspring.com.

At its booth, B. Braun will showcase the following safety-engineered IV therapy devices:

• Introcan Safety® IV Catheter - Designed with innovative, fully automatic passive-safety features to help eliminate accidental needlestick injury effortlessly. From insertion to catheter deployment to needle removal, clinicians are protected by a truly passive safety device that is activated automatically -- no extra steps required and cannot be bypassed.
  
  
• Introcan Safety® 3 Closed IV Catheter - B. Braun's latest advancement, which takes the same preferred passive safety-engineered needlestick protection found in Introcan Safety and adds additional automatic protection from blood exposure. For safety and convenience, Introcan Safety 3's unique multi-access blood control septum minimizes blood exposure during needle removal and each time the catheter hub is accessed.
  
  
• Ster-ASSIST™ Sterile Peripheral IV Catheter Insertion Kit - In an effort to promote best practice in sterile technique and clinician safety, while still providing convenience, B. Braun has packaged into a single kit all of the components needed to perform ultrasound-guided peripheral IV therapy procedures. It represents the first and only comprehensive sterile IV kit supporting ultrasound.
  
  
• STEADYCare™ Extension Set with Wedge™ Catheter Stabilizer - Recently cleared by the FDA, was developed to help improve stabilization and in-dwell of a peripheral IV catheter. It was designed to minimize catheter movement in the vessel, maintain the catheter insertion angle, and reduce the patient connector's skin contact.
  
  
• InVision-Plus^® Neutral IV Connector - The most recent addition to the B. Braun needleless connector portfolio provides a 10-point standard of features and is offered through an exclusive U.S. distribution agreement with RyMed Technologies, LLC. B. Braun's portfolio of needleless connectors, including the CARESITE® Luer Access Device, offers a safe way to access IV lines through innovative features designed to help reduce catheter occlusions while protecting healthcare workers from accidental needlestick injuries.

B. Braun also is the proud sponsor of the Gardner Foundation Sharing Expertise Scholarship, which awards six scholarships for professional excellence in nursing.

About B. Braun
B. Braun Medical Inc., a leader in infusion therapy and pain management, develops, manufactures, and markets innovative medical products and services to the healthcare industry. The company is committed to eliminating preventable treatment errors and enhancing patient, clinician and environmental safety. B. Braun Medical is part of the B. Braun Group of Companies in the U.S., which is headquartered in Bethlehem, Pa., and includes B. Braun Interventional Systems, Aesculap^® and CAPS^®.

Globally, the B. Braun Group of Companies employs more than 56,000 employees in more than 60 countries. Guided by its Sharing Expertise^® philosophy, B. Braun continuously exchanges knowledge with customers, partners and clinicians to address the critical issues of improving care and lowering costs. To learn more about B. Braun Medical, visit www.BBraunUSA.com.

¹ http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/hazdrug/