Hepatitis C probe
■ Previously: Clark County Public Health and PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center advised 936 former hospital patients to be tested for hepatitis C. An investigation revealed they may have been exposed to the disease through the actions of a former hospital employee.
■ What’s new: PeaceHealth Southwest and public health officials continue their investigation and aren’t releasing any additional information until the investigation is complete.
■ What’s next: PeaceHealth Southwest officials say they don’t have a timeline for the investigation’s completion.
The monthslong investigation into possible hepatitis C exposure at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center is still underway, and hospital officials say they don’t have a timeline for its completion.
Hepatitis C probe
? Previously: Clark County Public Health and PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center advised 936 former hospital patients to be tested for hepatitis C. An investigation revealed they may have been exposed to the disease through the actions of a former hospital employee.
? What's new: PeaceHealth Southwest and public health officials continue their investigation and aren't releasing any additional information until the investigation is complete.
? What's next: PeaceHealth Southwest officials say they don't have a timeline for the investigation's completion.
The hospital and Clark County Public Health launched the investigation earlier this year after learning hospital patients may have been exposed to hepatitis C, a contagious, blood-borne liver disease, through the actions of a former PeaceHealth Southwest employee suspected of diverting drugs.
On May 19, hospital and public health officials mailed certified letters to 936 former patients — most of whom, if not all, are adults — who received care from the employee in question and were administered drugs during the course of their stay at the hospital.
PeaceHealth Southwest and public health officials are not releasing any information about the investigation, declining to comment on the number of people tested, their results or whether patient testing is still underway.
No additional information will be released until the investigation is complete, said Tim Strickland, a spokesman for PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center. Strickland said he could not provide an estimated date for its completion.
Testing recommendations
Sy Johnson, the hospital’s chief executive officer, said in May the hospital was “exercising a great deal of caution” with the testing recommendations. At that time, hospital officials said there was no evidence any patients had been exposed to hepatitis C at the hospital.
The possible drug diversion, however, prompted the recommendations.
Diverting drugs refers to a person taking some or all of a medication prescribed to another person and using the drugs for personal use. For example, an employee could divert drugs by using a syringe to inject themselves with some of the medication, then use the same syringe to administer the remaining medication to a patient.
When hospital officials learned of the possible drug diversion in February, they looked back at the patients for whom the employee had provided care. That’s when they learned the employee was a member of the care team for a patient who, a few months after receiving care at the hospital, was diagnosed with hepatitis C. The patient, who was diagnosed in late 2012, had no known risk factors for hepatitis C.
The employee in question left the organization in March, though hospital officials are not disclosing whether the person quit or was fired. Hospital officials still are not identifying the employee, what position the employee held or in which department the employee worked.
The hepatitis C testing for the former patients was done at the expense of PeaceHealth Southwest. Should any of the patients test positive for hepatitis C, additional testing will be performed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to determine whether there is a connection between the virus and the hospital.
Treatment will also be provided at the expense of the hospital.
Hepatitis C infection ranges in severity from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a serious, lifelong illness, according to the CDC. Most people have no symptoms, but without treatment, some of those infected will develop chronic liver disease, which can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer, according to the CDC.
