http://www.kdvr. com/news/ kdvr-rose- hepc-folo- 070309,0, 410319.story

Patients flood hospital amid hepatitis C scare
Heidi Hemmat KDVR Investigative Reporter
July 3, 2009

DENVER - No time for a holiday at Rose Medical Center. Instead, it's all hands
on deck as hospital officials try to get the word out to 4,700 patients who may
have been exposed to hepatitis C.
Calls flooded a hospital hotline as nurses tried to answer their questions,
other patients arrived at the hospital first thing Friday morning to get tested.
"I just want to make sure I'm negative first of all," said a woman who fears
exposure but didn't want to give her name.
"I saw on line that the hospital was aware that the surgical tech was positive
for hepatitis C when they hired her, so I don't understand why they weren't
testing her on a regular basis for narcotics, they do random drug testing at my
job, so I don't quite understand why they let that happen."
This woman is one of 4,700 people who had surgery at Rose between October 2008
and April 2009 and came into contact with surgical tech Kristen Parker. The
former Rose employee is accused of swapping her own contaminated needles for
syringes filled with a powerful narcotic.
Rose Medical Center doctors say people infected with Hepatitis C usually have no
symptoms at all. But left untreated it could cause serious liver damage.
Parker also worked at the "Audubon Surgical Center" in Colorado Springs. That
medical facility is setting up its own hotline for concerned patients.
Rose patients who could have been infected will receive a letter within the next
72 hours.

The hot-line number for Rose patients is 303-329-7500.


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