About 10 years ago, when AIDS was emerging in the United States as a major health threat, health care workers were not prepared to handle AIDS patients.

Despite some fear and hesitation about treating AIDS patients, health care workers are tightening up safety precautions and learning how to care for patients who have AIDS.

Wess Cartwright, a nationally registered paramedic, said paramedics worry about contracting the disease because they expose themselves to potential HIV infection by drawing blood from veins and performing intubations, a procedure involving the placement of a tube into the trachea.

"I have to worry. I have a family and I don't want to take it home to them. I want to be clean," he said.

David Lindstrom, coordinator, emergency medical services, said AIDS is not an occupational disease, but is a result of lifestyle choices.

He said he did not used to worry about touching blood; however he now protects himself by wearing rubber gloves, a gown and a mask.

"You must assume everyone is potentially infected," Lindstrom said.

The AIDS concern has made paramedics more aware of blood splashing and resultant infection, he said.

Dr. Jack Stein, deputy director for the Center for AIDS and Substance Abuse Training in Falls Church, Va., recently spoke to a group of local dental professionals about health care workers' growing concern about administering medical care to AIDS patients.

He said health care workers are scared because of a lack of knowledge, but that is changing.

Many workers have changed their attitude from "Why should I help someone with AIDS?" to "How can I help this person?" Stein said.

Dr. Tom Dagney, an emergency physician in Chicago who used to work with the Office of Emergency Medical Services, estimates on a typical day he treats up to five AIDS patients.

Dagney said he first worked with an AIDS patient during his internship.

"I felt uncomfortable and I didn't know much about it," he said.

However today Dagney has no hesitations about treating a patient with AIDS.

Lawrence Kingsley, who works for the Pitt Mens' Study -- an AIDS research study of gay men - said several studies have been done regarding health care workers' risk of contracting AIDS at the workplace.

"The risk is small because the AIDS virus is not highly infectious in a hospital setting or in the work place," Kingsley said, adding that AIDS is not transmitted through the air, a cough or a toilet seat.

The only risk involved would be if a worker were struck with an infected needle, but because of the recommended precautions the chances of this happening are slim, he said.

Sue Edgreen and Dorothy Kelly, dental hygienists for Dr. Donald Miller, a local dentist, said they have not knowingly treated an AIDS patient, but both admit they would feel a certain amount of fear.

Edgreen said, "I would take as many precautions as possible, but I think if we couldn't treat the person (because more sophisticated facilities were needed) then we would refer them to a facility accustomed to dealing with these patients so they could receive better treatment."

Stein trains counselors and provides them with skills to better understand AIDS. He said health care workers' knowledge about the disease depends upon the workers' place of employment. Workers in larger cities are extremely knowledgeable about the disease, while workers in State College and similar smaller communities are not as knowledgeable because of fewer numbers of AIDS patients.

Under recommendations from the Public Health Service, health care workers in all areas of the United States are following guidelines to protect themselves from becoming infected with the HIV virus, which is contractible through exchange of blood and other bodily fluids.

Joanne Schimmel, a dental hygienist, said she and others in the dental field wear gloves, masks and protective eye covering. She said she has read in journals that dentists who do not comply with the recommendations can be fined.

Stanely P. Mayers, associate professor of human development, said, "I think because of measures taken in the past before the AIDS epidemic, many professionals and technicians had gotten careless handling blood samples and other substances."

A media bulletin from the American Hospital Association said the Association issued a statement urging hospitals to adopt a system of "universal precautions" in which workers treat all patients' blood and bodily fluids as potentially hazardous.

Under these precautions hospital workers wear protective gear when there is a high chance of exposure to blood or bodily substances.

Donna Williams, director of public relations at Centre County Community Hospital, said last year, following recommendations from the American Medical Association and the Centers for Disease Control, the hospital developed a policy called Body Substance Isolation Procedures.

Workers on all levels at the hospital must wear protective coverings -- gloves, masks and gowns -- when caring for patients. Workers must wear gloves when transferring specimens to the lab and all specimens must be labeled before transported through the hospital, Williams said.