A former employee at Northern Westchester Hospital in New York state was arrested earlier this month and accused of knowingly exposing numerous surgical patients to hepatitis C. Kristen Diane Parker was apparently injecting herself with painkillers meant for patients, then refilling the syringes with saline solution for subsequent use, even though she knew she was infected with hepatitis C. Hepatitis C is a blood-borne disease that can cause serious liver problems, including cirrhosis and liver cancer. Northern Westchester Hospital is notifying approximately 2,800 patients who had surgery there to come in for testing. The hospital has set up a patient help line at 914-666-1902 for more information. [via CBS news]
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Tags: hepatitis, hepatitis C, hospital, surgery, Westchester
Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.
July 20th, 2009 at 7:39 am
this lady is crazy…. hospitals shou;d be more aware of their employees…now those people who have been infected will have to suffer because of one desperate lady who needed a drug… this is a lesson for all hospitals, there are a lot of crazy people out there that are willing to do anything for their addictions.
July 23rd, 2009 at 12:09 am
The person being accused of this crime shoule be found guilty by her peers and for each person turninng out to be positiv for hepatites C she should serve 10 years consecutively and/or life in prison without the possility of parol. MY TAX DOLLARS WILL BE WELL SPENT FOR SUCH A SENTENCE. She should live so long that she has to contemplate her evild deed til she dies.
July 23rd, 2009 at 9:16 am
Hey, Truck Driver’s have to submit to very stringent drug testing and keep very accurate log books of their work time and activities. How come our health provider’s don’t have to do the same?? This really irks me to no end. No system in place for healthcare provider’s…
July 24th, 2009 at 7:50 am
My question is : I am on day reporting at the jail, every 12 hours i go sign in and when ever they decide they can U.A. me they know i have a script for vicodine but yesterday a friend of mine gave me 2 percacetts today they gave me a U.A. can they tell the differance in the 2 from the U.A.? Or are they just looking at a group of say prescibed narcs vs. cocaine, meth and marjauna?
July 25th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
were can I find all the facts about swine flu?
July 27th, 2009 at 8:14 am
This man needs to be prosecuted! He knowingly infected hundreds of unsuspecting and trusting people with a possible death sentence!! I don”t want my tax dollars spent on this evil, evil man to live out his years being taken care of in our prison system. Put him down and use the money on the care and treatment for those poor victims whom he knowingly may have infected!!
July 27th, 2009 at 8:17 am
Sorry, I guess the evil doer is a women. That still doen”t change my feelings about the matter. Thank You.