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Baxa Announces 2009 Course Dates for Its STAR Center(R) Training Facility

Posted on: Wednesday, 17 December 2008, 08:00 CST

Baxa Corporation announces record number of course dates for its STAR Center in 2009. Together with the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), the company plans 22 class sessions focused on pharmacy best practice in relation to USP < 797 > regulatory compliance and hazardous drug handling.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Dec. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Baxa Corporation has published the 2009 course dates for training at its STAR (Skills Training, Academics and Resources) Center. The STAR Center, a premier facility designed for cleanroom and pharmacy practice demonstration, is located at the company's headquarters south of Denver, Colorado. For 2009, Baxa and USP (United States Pharmacopeia) together bring you sixteen opportunities to attend their flagship course, Aseptic Processing and Compliance Tools for USP < 797 >. This two-and-one-half-day seminar will be taught by industry experts and members of the USP < 797 > Sterile Compounding Committee. In addition a companion course, Safe Handling and Preparation of Hazardous Drugs, will be offered six times during the 2009 calendar year with professional faculty.

The first USP compliance class will be held January 28 - 30, 2009, with subsequent program dates running through November, 2009. The ACPE-accredited training is filled on a first-come, first-serve basis and the previous two years' session dates have sold out. Attendance in the STAR Center classes is limited to 20 participants to ensure resource availability, student-teacher ratios and the opportunity for hands-on experience in the cleanrooms.

Baxa, in association with USP, recommends the Aseptic Processing and Compliance Tools for USP < 797 > course to equip compounding professionals with core knowledge and skills toward USP < 797 > compliance. The current programming targets pharmacy and IV managers, as well as pharmacists and technicians with lead responsibility for compounding activities. The program provides value for any personnel compounding sterile preparations or implementing cleanroom principles and practices that comply with USP 797 and industry best practice. Course topics include cleanroom physical design and layout, engineering controls and airflow science, media fill testing and principles associated with workflow, staff training, cleaning, monitoring, validation and documentation.

The Safe Handling and Preparation of Hazardous Drugs course educates pharmacists, technicians, nurses and physicians on how to handle hazardous drugs safely, while complying with regulatory requirements and industry best practice. This ten-hour course covers critical topics including engineering controls required when compounding hazardous drugs, proper use of closed-system drug transfer devices (CSDTDs), procedures for handling hazardous drug spills, hazardous waste containment and disposal and regulatory compliance.

Baxa Corporation sponsors the STAR Center to further best practices in health-system pharmacy operations and facility design. The STAR Center brings together professional and industry partners to provide participants with a range of experiences in equipment, technology and processes. The STAR Center launched in fall 2006. Tuition charged for STAR Center training covers the cost of providing participant meals and training materials, ACPE accreditation and professional speakers' fees. Future class offerings are in development. Contact Baxa Corporation at www.baxa.com/starcenter for more information.

About the STAR Center

The STAR Center is a state-of-the-art cleanroom, pharmacy and training facility located at the Baxa world headquarters in Englewood, Colorado. The center was purpose-built to support training in aseptic technique, pharmacy workflow and practice, cleanroom design and maintenance and USP < 797 > compliance among other topics. Classes are taught by industry-recognized subject matter experts. Further information is available at www.baxa.com/starcenter.

About the United States Pharmacopeia (USP)

USP is a private, non-profit, standards-setting organization that advances public health by helping to ensure the quality and consistency of medicines, food ingredients, and dietary supplements, promoting the safe and proper use of medications, and verifying ingredients in drugs and dietary supplements. Its standards are recognized worldwide. For more information about USP and its public health programs, visit www.usp.org/newscenter.

About Baxa Corporation

Baxa, a customer-focused medical device company, provides innovative, solution-based technologies for medication handling and delivery. Its systems and devices promote the safe and efficient preparation, handling, packaging, and administration of medications. Key products include the PadLock(R) Set Saver, Rapid-Fill(TM) Automated Syringe Fillers, Exacta-Med(R) Oral Dispensers, MicroFuse(R) Syringe Infusers, Repeater(TM) Pharmacy Pumps, and Exacta-Mix(TM) and MicroMacro(TM) Multi-Source Automated Compounders; used worldwide in hospitals and healthcare facilities. Privately held, Baxa Corporation has subsidiaries and sales offices in Canada and the United Kingdom; direct representation in Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, The Netherlands and Switzerland; and distribution partners worldwide. Further information is available at www.baxa.com.

Contact: Marian Robinson, Vice President, Marketing Baxa Corporation: 800.567.2292 ext. 2157 or 303.617.2157 Email: marian.robinson@baxa.com Maggie Chamberlin Holben, APR Absolutely Public Relations: 303.984.9801 or 303.669.3558 Email: maggie@absolutelypr.com Sandra Kim, Manager, Media Relations USP USP: 301-816-8241 Email: sek@usp.org

SOURCE Baxa Corporation

Source: PR Newswire

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