On Thursday, Nevada legislators held their first public hearing to investigate the outbreak of hepatitis C among Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada (ECSN) patients. Inspections at 13 other Las Vegas area outpatient surgical facilities also found several violations of standard practices, Lisa Jones, the state health licensing chief, told a health care committee.
Health officials believe six ECSN patients were infected with hepatitis C when clinic staff, citing orders from management, regularly reused syringes and vials of anesthesia intended for one patient only. Investigators also witnessed staff members cleaning two scopes in the same solution.
The medical community needs better oversight, whistleblower protection, and education on these matters, said Lawrence Sands, Southern Nevada Health District's chief health officer.
Jones' department is supposed to inspect the sites every three years, but ECSN's last full inspection was in December 2001. She said her bureau is underfunded and beset with staff shortages. A federal review due this year to reauthorize ECSN's Medicare certification was also unlikely because of the funding shortage, Jones said. She would not go into more detail about violations found at the other 13 facilities.
Jones' bureau did not move to shut down ECSN but introduced a corrective plan for the violations. However, the city of Las Vegas shut the center down amid public outrage.
The state based its notification of some 40,000 ECSN patients who had procedures from March 2004 to Jan. 11 on an examination of the center's orders of single-patient medication vials. Documents showed there were more patients than vials being used every day, said Brian Labus, the district epidemiologist.
"Prior to that it's possible those patients were exposed," Labus said. "We could not determine that from our investigation." Additionally, officials know of ECSN patients whose names were not provided in a list furnished by the clinic, he said.
03/06/08
NEVADA: Inspections Prompted by Hepatitis C Outbreak Find More Violations
Source: Associated Press:: Kathleen Hennessey; Courtesy of the CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention