HonorHealth’s John C. Lincoln Medical Center in Phoenix is offering free hepatitis and HIV testing to patients in response to the discovery that a former employee is accused of stealing pain medication at a Colorado facility.
HonorHealth announced that a former employee at the Phoenix area center, formerly known as North Mountain Hospital, is at the center of a case that led to communicable disease testing of former patients of a Colorado hospital. Employment records show that he worked in at the Phoenix hospital for less than two months, from July 28, 2014 to Sept. 26, 2014.
The employee was terminated for violation of a workplace policy when he tested positive for use of a controlled substance.
The company says that it “is important to note that the situation at our facility is different than the one in Colorado, and at this time, we have no indication that there was harm to patients. However, because of the Colorado case, and in an abundance of safety, we are offering free hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV testing to any patient who had a surgery in which he served as a surgical technician.”
The company has identified “97 patients who were in a surgery during which he served as a technician. Although the likelihood that patients were exposed is extremely low, we will be contacting patients directly by phone and with a certified letter with instructions about how they can be tested and where,” read the statement.
“As soon as we found out about the Colorado incident and became aware that the surgical technician was a former employee, we immediately began looking into the matter. We are working in close collaboration with the Maricopa County Department of Public Health and the Arizona Department of Health Services,” the company said in a statement released on February 14. “The situation that happened here is an isolated, unfortunate situation. There is no evidence at this time that what happened in Colorado happened here. To
ensure patient safety, we are conducting a comprehensive review of our policies and procedures related to controlled substances.”