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Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Assisted living center cited after needle stick - May 3 2011 - LAKE ZURICH, Illinois

LAKE ZURICH, Ill. (AP) -- An assisted living center has been cited with 17 safety and health violations after a nurse practitioner allegedly was hurt in a needle stick incident.

Paradise Park Assisted Living center in Lake Zurich was cited by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Getting pricked with a used needle can expose workers to hepatitis and HIV, but it isn't clear whether the nurse got sick.

OSHA announced the citations Tuesday but didn't identify the nurse. The agency has levied $72,000 in penalties.

Paradise Park released a statement saying it would contest the alleged violations and that it no longer operates the Lake Zurich facility.

OSHA says the facility failed to immediately do a blood test and that nurses didn't have easy access to containers for disposing used needles.

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