Thousands across Colorado may have been exposed to Hepatitis C

[MuffyBee]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/03/hospital.employee.arrest/index.html?eref=rss_mostpopular
Hospital worker may have exposed patients to hepatitis
July 3, 2009
By Jim Spellman
CNN


DENVER, Colorado (CNN) -- A former hospital employee may have exposed hundreds, or even thousands, of surgical patients to hepatitis C after taking their fentanyl injections and replacing them with used syringes filled with saline solution, authorities say.
 Kristen Diane Parker, who worked at Rose Medical Center in Denver, has admitted to secretly injecting herself in a bathroom and using unclean syringes as replacements for patients, investigators say.

She had hepatitis C, which she believes she contracted through using heroin and sharing dirty needles while she lived in New Jersey in 2008, authorities say.

She was a surgical technician at Rose from October 2008 to April 2009.

Nine patients who had surgery there during that time have tested positive for hepatitis C. Investigators are looking into whether they contracted the virus from Parker.

According to an affidavit filed by an investigator with the Food and Drug Administration, Rose Medical Center knew Parker tested positive for hepatitis C. She was counseled on how to limit her exposure to patients.

Parker quit after she was found in an operating room where she was not allowed to be. She subsequently tested positive for fentanyl. Hospital officials then contacted the DEA.
 Parker is in federal custody facing three drug-related charges. If she is found to have done serious harm to a patient, she could face up to 20 years in prison. If a patient dies due to her actions, she could face life in prison.

In a statement to police, Parker said, "I can't take back what I did, but I will have to live with it for the rest of my life, and so does everyone else."

Her attorney could not be reached Friday.

Rose Medical Center is contacting 4,700 patients who had surgery at Rose during the time Parker was employed there. However, hospital officials do not believe that that many patients were exposed.

"We are taking a very conservative and cautious approach by contacting everyone who had surgery during this broad time period," a statement on the hospital's Web site states. "It is likely that most of the patients who receive letters will not have been exposed to hepatitis C."

Another 1,200 patients may have been infected between May 4, 2009, and July 1, 2009, when Parker worked at Audubon Ambulatory Surgical Center in Colorado Springs. Audubon is also contacting patients.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hepatitis C is a contagious liver disease that can lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.koaa.com/aaaa_top_stories/x1974617906/Questions-mount-about-hepatitis-c-as-more-details-are-released
Questions mount about hepatitis c as more details are released

Story By: John Romero
Source: KOAA

Published Fri Jul 03, 2009, 06:07 PM MDT
Updated Fri Jul 03, 2009, 06:07 PM MDT
Thousands across the state may have been exposed to hepatitis c through alleged needle swapping by surgical tech Kristen Parker. Dr. Donna Lanacone says out of all three types of hepatitis, C is by far the most serious and dangerous. “Hepatitis C is a virus that attacks the liver often silently.” she says, “The big difference is the fatality is higher and there is no vaccine.”

This silent killer can come without any symptoms at all and may not show for a number of years. “Most of the time there are no symptoms for 10-20 years.” explains Dr. Lanacone, “Some early symptoms you might see are low grade fever, fatigue, yellowing of the skin, which is called jaundice, abdominal pain, and some nausea and vomiting.” Hepatitis C can lead to cirrhosis, which is a scarring of the liver and is potentially fatal. It can also lead to liver cancer.

The virus that causes hepatitis c can be present for hours in blood even once it's dried. So it's a lot easier to catch than other blood-borne illnesses making testing that much more important. “You should definitely get tested if there's any possibility of exposure to hepatitis c.” says Dr. Lanacone, “You do want to catch it as soon as you can. If you take the medications early enough can prevent some the of life threatening complications of hepatitis c.”

Both the Audubon Center and Rose Medical Center have set up free, confidential testing programs for patients who believe they may have been exposed. They say testing is not necessary for HIV or hepatitis b. Audubon will begin sending letters to patients on July 6th, you can contact them at (719) 571-4440. If you have questions about contamination at Rose Medical Center, call the patient care line at (303) 329-7500.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/49892822.html
1200 Face Possible Hepatitis-C Infection     
Posted: 6:12 PM Jul 3, 2009
Last Updated: 6:44 PM Jul 3, 2009
Reporter: Jason Aubry
Email Address: Jaubry@kktv.com
More than a thousand people in Colorado Springs could be infected with Hepatitis C, all because of a woman with an alleged drug problem.

Kristin Diane Parker, a former surgery tech with Audubon Surgery Center in Colorado Springs has been arrested. According to police documents, Parker says she would take syringes she had used for drugs, and switch them with needles used in surgeries.

The needles contained a powerful pain killer, Fentanyl. Some Colorado Springs residents were not surprised this happened so close to home. Others were scared by the reality that is had actually occurred. While still others, those who have been potentially affected are outraged. But all are in agreement, something needs to be done.

"Hopefully they will put in security measure that will guarantee peoples safety, especially after this," says concerned resident, Donna Dolce.

But, the Audubon Surgery Center feels they already meet and exceed the standard of care for everything the do, including the handling of drugs. They also say, Parker passed a standard drug test prior to employment. Unfortunately, that test does not normally look for the drug she was allegedly abusing. Even now, the Audubon Surgery Center does not expect to have any major changes to policies or procedures in the near future.

"There is no policy change we're going to be making tomorrow morning, because we found some big flaw in the system," says Medical Director for Audubon Surgery Center, J. Michael Hall M.D.

But that, may not be what people want to hear. Still, the Audubon Surgery Center is offering all patients who had surgery between May 4 and July 1 of this year, free Hepatitis C blood tests. You can call 719-571-4440 from 9-5, Monday through Friday for more information.

[Bearlyhere]

What an outrage.  Not only were people exposed to a deadly virus, but they had procedures with no pain medication.  Didn't anyone complain that they were still in pain?  Didn't anyone notice?

 

[MuffyBee]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SURGERY_TECH_HEPATITIS?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US
Jul 9, 3:57 PM EDT

Bail denied for surgery tech in hepatitis C scare

 DENVER (AP) -- A surgery technician in Colorado accused of swapping out used syringes for ones filled with a painkiller meant for patients has been denied bail.

A judge in federal court ruled Thursday that 26-year-old Kristen Diane Parker is a danger to the community.

She faces charges of tampering with a consumer product, creating a counterfeit controlled substance and obtaining a controlled substance by deception or subterfuge.

Parker tested positive for hepatitis C. She recently worked at Rose Medical Center in Denver and at Colorado Springs Audubon Ambulatory Surgery Center.

State health officials say 10 hepatitis C cases in former Rose patients may be linked to the Rose. Up to 6,000 people may have been exposed to the blood-borne liver disease.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iuGkqGAql32UKlLkdn4MuIxzdUWQD99CCMF00
Scrub tech causes major hepatitis scare in Colo.

By P. SOLOMON BANDA – 6 hours ago

DENVER (AP) — Kimberly Spencer's 9-year-old son went to Audubon Ambulatory Surgery Center last month for what was supposed to be a routine surgery. The rambunctious child stuck a BB in his ear and doctors had to operate to remove it.

What happened next shocked the family. They were notified that their son is one of 6,000 patients who may have been exposed to hepatitis C by a painkiller-addicted technician who had the disease and allegedly passed on dirty syringes to patients.

The technician has been jailed, thousands of rattled patients have been getting hepatitis C tests, and two medical facilities where she worked have been bombarded with questions about how they let it happen. Ten cases of hepatitis C have been linked to Rose Medical Center, where Kristen Diane Parker worked until April.

"It was originally a humorous child story we could write about in his baby book and now it's just gone south a little bit," Spencer said Friday as she awaited results of her son's blood test. "We're very optimistic, we think it's going to be just fine. It's still unnerving."

During a police interview videotaped June 30 that was played in court Thursday, the 26-year-old Parker told a detective that she kept dirty saline-filled syringes in her pocket and watched for opportunities when doctors and nurses left the room. She then allegedly stole syringes filled with Fentanyl from operating carts and replaced them with the used syringes.

"I didn't want to make it obvious to everyone that I was using," the 26-year-old Parker told the detective in the interview, saying she stole between 15 and 20 syringes of Fentanyl. "I knew my limit."

Health officials are conducting tests to determine if the 10 hepatitis C cases are definitively linked to Parker. Many people with hepatitis C don't know they are infected because they don't develop symptoms until years later.

Parker said she used between 100 to 250 micrograms of the drug each time, roughly enough medication for a 500-pound person, according to medical malpractice attorney Dr. Eric Steiner, a former cardiac anesthesiologist.

Thousands of former surgery patients have contacted Denver's Rose Medical Center and Audubon Ambulatory Surgery Center in Colorado Springs for free blood tests being offered by both facilities. More than 1,900 former Rose patients have been tested, said hospital spokeswoman Leslie Teegarden.

An Audubon spokesman did not return messages Friday, but state health officials said those at that facility, including Spencer's son, will be tested again in about seven weeks because it takes that long for the disease to show up in the bloodstream. Hepatitis C is a treatable but incurable blood-borne disease that can cause serious liver problems.

Despite a hopeful attitude for Spencer, mundane every day occurrences have taken on disproportionate significance, such as Thursday when her son fell off his bike and skinned his knee.

"A simple little scrape to me is, 'Oh my gosh,' we need to take care of that, wash our hands, bandage him up. It makes you think twice, for everybody; the children he's playing with, the children I have at home. At the same time I don't want to overreact for him. He's nine.

"It's probably going to be like this for six more weeks until we know for sure."

Parker's case could end up being the first in Colorado where a patient got an infection from a health care worker who was tampering with drugs, said Dr. Ned Calonge, chief medical officer for the state health department.

Nationwide, there were four documented cases of nurses and doctors infecting patients with hepatitis C between 1992 and 2003, according to the latest information from Centers for Disease Control. A 1992 case cited in the CDC study involved a surgical technician who was using anesthesia medications.

Parker gave several reasons for using Fentanyl, which is a narcotic 80 to 100 times more powerful than morphine: to deal with a custody battle with her ex-husband over her 2-year-old son; six-hour stretches of being on her feet; and back pain from the physical requirements of moving patients around the operating rooms.

She also said she had a problem with painkillers in the past and she may have gotten hepatitis C when she used heroin last summer while living in New Jersey.

"She's going to take responsibility," Parker's attorney Gregory Graf said. He had argued that Parker should be released on bail because her cooperation with investigators proves she was not a flight risk.

A key point that could lead to more serious charges is whether she knew she was infected with hepatitis C.

She tested positive for the disease before starting her job at Rose in October, but she didn't follow up when told about it because she didn't have health insurance or money for a doctor and she got distracted with her new job.

She also said hospital officials didn't make it clear she tested positive. A federal magistrate judge disagreed and declared her a danger to the community and ordered her held without bond, saying her actions showed significant disregard for the safety of others. Her next hearing is Oct. 6.

Those infected with hepatitis C are not barred from working in health services, so long as standard precautions are taken, according to the CDC.

"She knew she had hepatitis C, she's a health care worker and she understands how this disease is spread," said Pat Criscito, 56, an author and freelance writer from Monument south of Denver. She underwent back and hand surgery at Rose last fall and spent a sleepless night worrying about hepatitis C while she waited for her test results. Criscito said a positive result would have been meant certain death because years of arthritis treatment have severely weakened her immune system.

"If I was going to die, she deserves life in prison. I can't understand how somebody can do that to another human being," Criscito said, who tested negative and is waiting the results of a second test.

Hospital and state health officials aren't sure how many people were injected with Parker's dirty needles or with saline solution contaminated when Parker allegedly dipped her dirty needles to fill bogus syringes to cover her tracks.

Denver police launched a drug investigation in April and the state health department began its investigation June 1 after former Rose surgery patients began testing positive for hepatitis C. Parker was arrested June 30 on state drug charges, but Denver police turned the case over to federal agents when they discovered the tampering.

[MuffyBee]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SURGERY_TECH_HEPATITIS?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US
Jul 16, 10:07 PM EDT

3 states investigating hep C-infected scrub tech

By P. SOLOMON BANDA
Associated Press Writer
 DENVER (AP) -- Hundreds more patients have been advised to get tested for hepatitis C as health officials in two more states launched investigations into an infected Colorado surgery tech who allegedly swapped clean needles for dirty ones to feed her painkiller addiction.

Kristen Diane Parker, 26, is accused of taking syringes meant for patients off operating room carts and replacing them with used syringes filled with saline solution at medical centers in Denver and Colorado Springs. The syringes she allegedly stole were filled with fentanyl, a narcotic painkiller 80 to 100 times stronger than morphine.

State health and hospital officials say up to 6,000 patients who had surgery at the two Colorado centers since October may have been exposed to hepatitis C.

Now, health officials in New York and Texas say Parker also worked at hospitals there, and they've launched their own investigations.

"It's clear the scope of the investigation has widened," Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Denver, said Thursday.<snip>