Scrub Tech Could Expose 6,000 Surgery Patients: Update
Monday July 13, 2009
Worry and anger must be intense for the nearly 6,000 patients awaiting hepatitis C test results. They were recently identified as being at high risk for hepatitis C exposure by an employee (now former employee) at two Colorado medical centers. To date, ten patients have tested positive for hepatitis C, though it isn't yet certain if they are connected to this case. Reading this frightening story creates a mixture of incredulous responses, ranging from "how could this have happened?" to "what kind of person would do this?". Here's a recap of what's publicly known.
Kristen Diane Parker is accused of stealing drugs while employed as a scrub tech (someone who prepares and sets up an operating room for surgery) at the Rose Medical Center in Denver and the Audubon Surgery Center in Colorado Springs. According to police documents, she would exchange used (dirty), saline-filled syringes that she kept in her pocket with new hospital syringes containing the pain medication Fentanyl.
Comments
Drug testing.. It is the answer. In my opinion, her employers were negligent in testing employees for drugs. Most people feel it’s invasion of privacy but look what happens when it’s not done often enough to catch a problem. Drug addiction is a disease and runs rampant throughout our society. Look how many people one drug addict can affect. Sadly, it will likely happen again. Personally I have had BAD experiences in hospitals and do not trust most of them. In my experience a lot of their employees are just there for a paycheck and do not pay attention to much more then the clock.
I was volunteering at a hospitol in the gift shop, and it was just to much for me and I was scared of catching anything by being exposed. I have a weakened immune system having hepC. The swine flu broke out and I said I am outta here.It is really sad that this happened in Colorado where I recently visited, I went to the historical museum in Denver and read about this in the newspaper while there.Usually us heppers are the ones feared by some medical professionals or judged as drug addicts, doesn’t this put a twist on the scenario.