This week, the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada had their business license suspended. Last week, it was reported that over the last 4 years, they have put up to 40,000 patients at risk of being infected with Hepatitis B, C, and HIV through the reuse of syringes and single-use medication vials.
I live in Vegas. Yesterday, both my father, who is 65 and has been a construction site electrician for over 40 years, and my brother-in-law, who has an 18 month old baby, received letters informing them they are among those 40,000, and that they need to get tested. My father had a procedure done there about 3 years ago. My brother-in-law had a procedure done about 4 months ago. Since I understand some forms of hepatitis can be transmitted sexually, that now puts both my mother and my sister at risk.
I'm finding difficulty putting into words how I feel about this. Tiny strings of ASCII characters like, "outraged", "reprehensible", "monstrous", "heinous", are just not big enough.
Posts: 1080 | Registered: Apr 2006
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Why on Earth would they ever think that was okay to do? Reuse of syringes?? They're supposed to throw them out right after they're done with them! How did it take them four years to get caught?
Posts: 3295 | Registered: Jun 2004
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We've been following this here at work and we're pretty outraged as well. I would be the one calling the 40,000 people to notify them if this happened here.
Even more chilling, the Center is not even admitting that they did anything wrong.
I can't link directly to the source I have from CDC, but the center sent an open letter that was published in the local news in Las Vegas from the head of the clinic expressing sympathy for this, not an apology, but sympathy and saying the evidence does not support that syringes or needles were ever reused from patient to patient. (it was discussed on NPR as well)
I'm sure the center is most likely just trying to keep the damage to a minimum and admitting guilt isn't in their best interests at this point. But they are so totally screwed.
Posts: 2069 | Registered: May 2001
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quote: My father had a procedure done there about 3 years ago... Since I understand some forms of hepatitis can be transmitted sexually, that now puts both my mother and my sister at risk.
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It gets better: according to Yahoo, some of the patients treated and at risk are not on the notification list.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Well, they were all told to do it by the "higher ups", but these are people who all had training that should have taught them that was not okay. I want to know how they justified that.
I think they should probably all lose whatever licenses they have.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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You can't get so much as an EMT Basic license without training in universal precautions, so there is no excuse - and I mean NO EXCUSE for any person with any medical training thinking this is okay. I don't care who told them that - I would quit a job before I put patients at risk. It's not like nurses and medical assistants aren't employable right now. Everyone who ever worked there that had anything to do with this and did not report it should lose their license, from the doctors down to the medical assistants - all of them.
In other words, I agree with ketchupqueen but I'm so outraged I had to restate it. I guess I'm sensitive because of having gone through cancer treatment - I put my life and my welfare in the hands of professionals that I expect will do their job - just as everyone involved in this does, and to find out that trust was betrayed in such a manner - it's upsetting. And I'm not even involved! I can't imagine what the patients and patients' families feel. Best wishes and prayers go out to all of them.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I am thinking of my three-year-old who will almost certainly need anesthesia in order to have her dental work completed. I do not even want to imagine her getting hepatitis or HIV because someone wanted to save a buck and reused a contaminated vial or syringe while we were forced to make her totally vulnerable.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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What I don't understand is how they thought they could get away with this indefinitely. One or two occurences (or maybe more), might possibly go undiscovered. But if it's a matter of policy over the period of years, then it's a numbers game; it's not a matter of "if" they get caught, it's a matter of "when". The longer they went on with this, the chances of getting caught were approaching unity.
Also, although my father and brother-in-law are not military men, this facility is apparently the premiere facility in the area for military personnel and military veterans for these kinds of procedures.
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With luck, the 40,000 is casting a wide net, and only a tiny fraction of a tiny fraction have actually been exposed.
Otherwise, I can only echo others' disgust. People deserve to be free from such callous disregard for safety when they are at a medical center and at their most vulnerable.
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
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It looks like this week saw the first trial verdict related to this issue. $500M was awarded against phamaceutical companies Teva and Baxter. This is the first of about 250 lawsuits. An attempt at a class-action lawsuit failed.
I'm a little disconcerted that more action isn't being taken against the facilities themselves, but it appears that, although some settlements have been reached, the facilities have limited insurance coverage ($3M) and assets available.
On a personal note, my father and (now ex-)brother-in-law turned out to be in the clear.
Posts: 1080 | Registered: Apr 2006
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Glad to hear about your father and former brother-in-law. I'm also troubled that little action has been taken against the facilities.
Posts: 1087 | Registered: Jul 1999
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quote:Originally posted by Sterling: With luck, the 40,000 is casting a wide net, and only a tiny fraction of a tiny fraction have actually been exposed.
And if it makes it any easier, the risk of contracting HIV from a needle stick from an infected person is not high, and the chances of a patient at the clinic having it already are something like 1 in 40, and the chances of a person having and not knowing, and their blood being drawn and the needle not safely disposed of is yet higher, and anyway, probably not *all* needles were resued, meaning the chances of having one that was is probably also lower than 1. There's a fair chance there have been no infections caused by this. Let's hope.
Posts: 9912 | Registered: Nov 2005
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