Popular Slideshows On CBS11TV.COM
Jul 3, 2009 10:30 pm US/Central
Hospital Tech May Have Exposed Thousands To Hep C
Officials Say Infected Worker, Kristen Parker, May Have Put 6,000 Patients At Risk
DENVER (CBS) ―
-
-
A scrub technician at a medical facility in Colorado may have exposed thousands of patients to Hepatitis C, official say.
CBS
A scrub tech at Rose Medical Center is accused of switching narcotic-filled syringes in operating rooms with dirty saline-filled syringes. Thousands of patients may be at risk for exposure to Hepatitis C.
Kristen Parker is in federal custody. The U.S. Attorney's Office said she admitted to stealing syringes filled with Fetanyl, a narcotic, and then replacing them with dirty syringes, reports CBS station KCNC-TV in Denver.
Parker has Hepatitis C. The arrest affidavit claims 5,000 patients may be at risk for exposure to the virus, however Rose Medical Center representatives claim the actual number of exposed patients is far less.
Nine patients who underwent surgery at Rose Medical Center have learned they were infected with Hepatitis C during an operation. Another 1,000 patients at the Audubon Surgery Center in Colorado Springs also may be at risk, totaling the possibility of about 6,000 exposures.
Hepatitis C is a blood-borne disease that can cause serious liver problems, including cirrhosis or liver cancer. The illness is treatable, but there is no cure. Symptoms can include nausea, diarrhea, fatigue, pain and jaundice.
Parker worked at Rose from Oct. 21, 2008, until April. Hospital officials say she was suspended April 13, before they learned of the cases, and then fired. She had failed a drug test by testing positive for Fentanyl.
Parker went to work for the Audubon surgery center shortly after being fired. She worked there from May 4 until Monday, Dr. J. Michael Hall, Audubon's medical director, told The Gazette in Colorado Springs.
If convicted of tampering with a consumer product and other charges, she faces up to 10 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine on the most serious charge of tampering.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Recent Celebrity Deaths
CBS News Interactive: Healthwatch
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
