Animal Welfare and Researcher Safety

Information on the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee as well as policy information can found on the MGH IACUC intranet site.

Any MGH employee observing a deficiency in animal care or use is encouraged to report it as outlined below. A deficiency may include acts of perceived negligence, omission or non-compliance with approved protocols and IACUC policies, and intentional acts of cruelty towards laboratory animals.

Hospital policy, as well as federal law, prohibits any discriminatory or reprisal measures being taken against any employee for reporting deficiencies in animal care or use.

MGH intends to protect, to the extent possible, the privacy of an individual who in good faith reports an apparent deficiency.

For more details, please refer to the IACUC policy on “Reporting Animal Welfare Concerns”.

All events while working in the animal facility resulting in an injury must be reported using the MGH Safety Reporting application.

All animal bites (including mice) must be reported to MGH Occupational Health Services as a requirement of the Boston Public Health Department.

If you incur any animal-related injuries, please notify your supervisor and contact MGH Occupational Health Services (617-726-2217).  In the event the injury occurs after hours or on weekends, dial 617-726-2000 and ask the operator to have the On-Call Occupational Health Nurse (Pager #21272) call you back. You will be directed as to next steps.

If you get bitten, you should 1) Stop the experiment, 2) Wash the wound 3) Report to OHS. 

In the event you are bitten/scratched by an NHP, injured by caging or equipment that has come into contact with NHP, injured with a sharp used on NHP, or exposed to fluids/secretions/ tissues derived from NHP please take the following actions:

1. Wash or flush the effected area within 5 minutes of exposure:
   – For bites, cuts, scratches, or puncture wounds: Scrub the affected area for 15 minutes using the bristle side of a 4% chlorohexidine scrub pad encouraging the wound to bleed. Following that, rinse the wound for 2 minutes and bandage.- For eye, mouth, nose exposure: Flush the exposed area for 15 minutes or flush area using an entire bottle of sterile saline. If mouth exposure, rinse with water or saline, but do not swallow.
2. Report to occupation health:-
   – MGH Charles River Plaza, 4^th Floor, Suite 404. 617-726-2217
   – In the event the exposure occurs after hours or on weekends, dial 617-726-2000 and ask the operator to have the On-Call Occupational Health Nurse (Pager #21272) call you back. Report to the Emergency Ward, 1st floor of the Lunder building. (617) 724-4100.
3. Notify veterinary staff:
   Contact Information: On-Call Veterinarian-617-721-9332

CCM Emergency Response Plan