Proper red bag waste disposal is one of the most important waste management steps for Georgia's urgent care centers. Because red bag waste contains items with blood or other potentially infectious materials, that waste stream can never legally go directly in the trash. Urgent care centers who ignore that put themselves at risk for fines, and they put whoever or whatever comes in contact with that waste at risk as well. With that in mind, make sure you're implementing these red bag disposal tips in your urgent care center.
Best Tips for Red Bag Medical Waste Disposal for Urgent Care Centers in Georgia
General Waste Management Tips for Red Bag Medical Waste
At your urgent care center, keep the following in mind whenever dealing with red bag waste:
- Waste should be properly segregated. This means only regulated medical waste goes in the red bag.
No:
-General trash (food scraps, paper cups, etc.).
-Trace chemotherapy waste.
-Expired medications.
This ensures you're compliant with the law, and it can save you money!
- All used sharps should always go in a puncture-resistant sharps bin.
Why Urgent Care Centers in Georgia Should Work with Medical Waste Management Companies
Urgent care centers are inherently different than doctors' offices, clinics, or hospitals. How so?
- Their volume of patients can fluctuate dramatically throughout any given time period. They might find themselves extremely busy after a particular holiday weekend but slower at other times.
- They tend to be smaller and have less room for proper storage of regulated medical waste.
What does all this mean for their generated waste? It means working with a reputable, experienced, local medical waste management company is the smartest, easiest way to ensure full compliance with any and all medical waste laws.
When selecting a company, look for:
- Proper Permits
To pick up, store, and transport your particular type of waste.
- Adequate Insurance
In case an accident requiring cleanup or other expenses occurs in relation to your waste.
- Years in Business
Experience is invaluable in any industry, but it's particularly important when potentially dangerous waste is involved.
- A Local Company
Many medical waste regulations fall under federal law. That means every state must comply with those rules. However, you still want to work with a local company. A Georgia waste management company will know the federal requirements as well as any state-specific rules or variances.
Why Choose a Full-Service Medical Waste Management Company?
Full-service companies are often more prepared and willing to be flexible with any given medical waste pick up. Therefore, if you experience an usually high volume of visitors one week and need a waste pickup right away because you lack safe, secure storage area, you want to work with a company that can accommodate that.
You don't want a company that will only perform pickups around a rigid schedule because urgent care centers in Georgia—by their very nature—are going to experience fluctuations in medical waste generation.
Full-service companies will also have the infrastructure in place for prompt and helpful customer service. If you find you need a pickup right away, you want to work with a company that will respond in a timely and effective manner.
Don't forget, you also want to choose a company that you can grow with. As your care center expands and does more business or offers more services, you want your waste management company to offer that scalability.
For more information about how medical waste disposal companies can help your Georgia urgent care center, please feel free to contact a representative of MCF Environmental Services, a full-service waste management Atlanta company
