Surgical HCV exposure

At least nine patients at Rose Medical Center in Denver have tested positive for Hepatitis C. Thousands of surgery patients at the hospital may have been exposed to the incurable virus. Now, the woman at the center of this problem is in trouble with federal officials.

Officials from the medical center say a former Surgery Technician was swapping her own dirty syringes for ones that were filled with powerful narcotics. Those syringes were meant for patients post-surgery.

Authorities say Kristen Diane Parker worked at the medical center. They say she was fired when hospital officials found out she was reportedly taking the real syringes off the anesthesia cart, and replacing them with ones filled with the painkiller Fentanyl. Hospital officials say she was fired before the Hepatitis C problem was discovered for not passing a drug test, because she tested positive for Fentanyl.

They say Parker then went to work at Audubon Ambulatory Surgery in Colorado Springs, and they think she may have swapped syringes there as well. The spokesman for Rose Medical Center Jeff Dorsey told reporters quote "It is impossible to adequately express how deeply sorry and angry we are that the unconscionable acts of the terminated employee may have put some of our patients at risk."

"We consulted with the Health Department and the Centers for Disease Control and decided the best precaution for our patients is to offer free, confidential and individual testing to everyone who had surgery at Rose Medical Center," said Dorsey. The hospital is now contacting around 6,000 patients to let them know they may have been exposed and need to be tested.

If convicted of tampering with a consumer product and other charges, Parker could face up to 10 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine on the most serious charge of tampering.

http://www.kjct8.com/Global/story.asp?S=10640081

[thegypsy9164]

Wow!

The things an addict does to maintain their addiction are horrible.  I know first hand.  However, I believe in accountability and hope the person in question in held accountable.  As for her victims, God bless them.

Joey

[frijole]

That story is amazing.  I just can't imagine anyone doing that but thegypsy is right -- addiction changes everything.

had you heard about the problems with the VA hospitals?  At some facilites the techs were not cleaning the equipment for colonoscopies but once a day.  At other facilites the techs were using the incorrect valves to clean the equipment and the incorrect valves for the procedure with the effect of flushing the colon with contaminants.  Several patients have since tested positve for hep C and HIV.  When I saw it on the news, I was amazed that you could hardly tell the difference between the two valves.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-03-27-veterans-colonoscopies_N.htm

Oh how I feel for all of the victims here
bean

[Bill1954]

Hi Kathy,

Yeah, I saw some of the stuff about the VA hospital. I wonder what ever became of the Las Vegas colonoscopy clinic situation from a few years ago? Has anyone heard whether there were any prosecutions from that?

Good to see you around, gal—

Bill

[meakea]

This is some seriously sick s8it!  

I wonder if this type of Hep C exposure gets the general public to sit up and take notice that Hep C can happen to anyone.  If so, that would be a silver lining in an ugly situation.

[IMstacie]

Hi Bill - thanks for the info.  This type of thing is really scary.  I really think the public should be better educated.  As Joey says addiction changes everything but if more folks were aware, I think these instances would be more noticable.  Even the addicts, are not aware of of what they can catch!

[franke566]

Howdy Bill.  I had an EP Study done on my heart at the VA back in 94.   according to them my blood work tested negative for Hep C Exposure on their routine blood work and before that time I had a routine physical once a year and I don't know if people were even tested for Hep C or not before 94.  My point is later-about 5 years later, I was diagnosed with Hep C!  I think it's likely I contracted the Virus during the EP study.  I want to share another story.  I had my gall bladder removed last march.  I was only in the hospital two days.  About every 4 hrs I was given an injection of a pain killer via I.V. and it really spun my head each time except once.  A nurse came in with a syringe and was about to inject then she suddenly excused herself and returned about 5 minutes later with the syringe and injected it.  I felt nothing.  Four hours later a different nurse came in-injected and got thrown for a loop again.  I suspected something after that.  I've since heard stories that nurses and even anastheologists are being busted for using patients meds or hording them and selling on the streets or to their friends. Oh, I stopped going to the VA in 94.  It was crowded and dirty.  I think National Health Care will plunge to these standards-but thats for a different forum-feel sorry for our young men and women now serving who may have to be treated in one.  They deserve better.

[Proactive]

"to the incurable virus" Interesting, no comments?
I was watching one of the Boston tv channels and the reporters comment was that the disease was treatable, but not curable.

[winner727]

I also found that comment ,in more than one news outlet , un - nerving .mabey they mean you will always have the dna ?  or that some people veiw treatment as only a type of remission of sorts ?  like keeping a cancer in remission ,but It still can come back ?  after 2 years arent we that treat , and acheive  SVR,   considered  cured?  with a lower than low percent breakthru ?    sorry for chimeing in w more questions . I did notice those comments ,just wanted to let you know & they upset me a bit .

[Rockerforlife]

IF YOU STAY CLEAR FOR 6 MONTHS AFTER TX,YOU ARE CURED...WHAT MORE EVIDENCE DO YOU WANT?...I BELIEVE ITS one in a thousand will relapse...if thats not a cure...then what is?

[Proactive]

Personally Rock, I don't believe it is quite the open and shut case you make it out to be, but that is just my opinion. I think there is a bit more to it than that. But....I did my 72 week sentence,svr'd and don't plan on laying awake at night worrying about it...Yet my head is firmly above the sand...........;^) pro

[Rockerforlife]

Only thing is though ive heard about the occult virus hiding in our livers after we SVR....so its possible we still my be infectious at a lower level...they have a test now that detects the virus in very small amounts bY taking liver sampleS after we SVR...they still cant detect in the blood but its in the liver...im not too sure on how the ocult(hidden) virus senerio works...but ive heard in some cases a small amout of damage can still be ongoin even after SVR..we will more than likely die of food poisioning first or get hit by a Moose

[IMstacie]

Rose Medical Center was aware she had hep C before they hired her.  One of the surgical patient's stated she was "a little bit shocked that they would even consider using someone who had tested positive for hepatitis."

It's because of incidents like this, I won't tell anyone I have it.

[alagirl]

For me, the fault lies not in hiring someone with hcv, but in not doing appropriate drug testing.

[franke566]

I think it depends on where you work whether or not you disclose.  I also believe that I have to answer truthfully all questions on a job application.  A friend of mine has active Hep-C and he works for Solara-a facility for the seriously sick and dying.  He's a cook.  He refuses to take treatment and I've had to wrestle with turning in a life long friend or looking the other way.  He's afraid he will ruin his career.  I'm afraid he will eventually be found out and ruin his career by not disclosing this-not about infecting someone.  The chances of that are so remote,  You'd think as Alagirl implied facilities would do appropriate drug testing.  

[IMstacie]

It appears they did do drug testing, that is how they caught her.  Addicts are very resourceful, she may have managed to beat the on-going drug testing.

But, just to be clear, I'm saying, I don't feel comfortable revealing my virus because of these type of incidents. This nurse's deceitfulness and the outcome it caused give people who are infected with this virus an undeserved stigma.

In my opinion, more education and more testing is needed.

[alagirl]

you said -- He's a cook.  He refuses to take treatment and I've had to wrestle with turning in a life long friend or looking the other way.
-----------------------------------------------------------

How on earth is a COOK any risk at all to patients?  This shouldn't be something you have to wrestle with as he is not a risk to patients in the facility as their cook.  

[alagirl]

They

a) Didn't test for fentanyl on the first screens and;
b) They didn't warn the next facility where she worked that she was an addict who had a + test for a drug she could almost have only obtained through the surgery suite.

[Marcia2202]

What a crook this woman is. Being in the medical field she should have been well aware of what she was doing, even though she was an addict.

[merryBe]

my senitiments exactly, the charge should be premediated murder.

KINDA makes me rethink that booby lift !!!!  (jk)

mb

[Marcia2202]

or that tummy tuck ....

[alagirl]

and that... nevermind ;)

lol

[IMstacie]

This stuff really takes all the fun out of life!