Potential Hepatitis C Patients Scared
By Marshall Zelingerm.zelinger@krdo.comFollow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mzelinger
COLORADO SPRINGS – Patients potentially exposed to Hepatitis C at the Audubon Surgery Center are speaking out to NEWSCHANNEL 13.
1,200 patients who had surgery at the Audubon Surgery Center between May 4, 2009 and July 1, 2009 may have been exposed to Hepatitis C and will need to take a free blood test starting next week. There could be as many as 6,000 patients exposed statewide, including Rose Medical Center in Denver.
Kristen Parker, a former surgical technician at both Audubon and Rose is infected with Hepatitis C. She’s accused of stealing and swapping out needles filled with Fentanyl, a pain medication used during and after surgeries, with her own used needles she re-filled with saline.
Friday, Audubon opened up a phone line (719-571-4440) for concerned patients, but it is only staffed Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Late Friday afternoon, 90 people had called the hotline.
“I asked the lady, I said when did this happen, how could this happen? She goes, ‘well, I really can’t answer any questions,'” said an Audubon patient who had surgery in May and wants to remain anonymous. “That’s unacceptable, I said I want to know what’s going on. She tried to be sympathetic, but there’s not sympathy in this problem, this is ridiculous.”
Our anonymous patient wanted information about her risk factor from her particular surgery.
“I asked that question, was she my surgical tech? ‘Well, we don’t have that information’, that’s unacceptable,” she said. “I want to know if she was my surgical tech and I’m going to go down and demand that I get my medical records.”
“I started crying pretty quickly after and cried for a few hours after. I feel the most helpless I think I’ve ever felt in my life,” said Savannah Stover, an Audubon patient in June.
Savannah had knee surgery after injuring herself working out. She says she worked the phone for hours Friday.
“We couldn’t get anybody today because it was the weekend,” said Stover. “I’m feeling like I’m having a nervous breakdown because I want to know if I’m sick and these people are like ‘well, I’m off boating for the weekend.'”
She kept calling until she finally got some answers.
“The lady I spoke with from Audubon did confirm that (Parker) was there that day of my surgery and that they did give me Fentanyl,” said Stover.
“We go to the medical professionals, because we feel safe. I’m livid right now and I’m upset,” said our anonymous patient. “Even if I don’t test positive for Hepatitis C, I’m going to take this a step further and demand that background checks and more detailed testing be done on anybody that works in the medical field so that this doesn’t happen to somebody else.”
A certified letter will be sent Monday to the 1,200 patients potentially exposed. The letter will tell patients about free blood testing. Scheduling a test may take a few days; the results could take another three-to-five days.
“I was wondering how I could get through the weekend until I can talk to the doctor Monday, and now that I know it’s going to be at the end of July at the earliest, yeah I’m very unsettled,” said Stover.
