Supervisors Order Review of AIDS Safeguard Policy
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors ordered a review Tuesday of the policy adopted to safeguard county health and law enforcement personnel from infection by combative AIDS patients.
The motion by Supervisor Mike Antonovich was prompted by an incident in May in which an AIDS-infected man allegedly “scratched, bit and spit blood” at two county police officers. County officers are assigned to provide protection at county hospitals, parks and other facilities. The patient also allegedly bit one sheriff’s deputy and spit at another.
By unanimous vote and without comment, the supervisors ordered Department of Health Services Director Robert Gates “to review current policies to ensure all steps are taken to protect employees from possible infection.”
Gates was directed to report back to the board in 30 days.
The incident that prompted the study happened May 16 at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia, where Michael Newbrough, 24, of North Hollywood, was being treated for a possible seizure. He is charged with assault with a deadly weapon.
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