According to New Jersey’s State Department of Health, an ambulatory surgery center did not follow proper sterilization procedures and may have exposed almost over 3,700 patients to HIV and hepatitis B and C.
The department stated that “lapses in infection control” and sterilization were found during an investigation of HealthPlus Surgery Center in Saddle Brook, New Jersey. According to CBS News, the surgery center is alerting 3,778 patients that they may have been exposed to infections. The surgery center sent a message to patients asserting, “during this time period, lapses in infection control in sterilization/cleaning instruments and the injection of medications may have exposed patients to bloodborne pathogen.”
The surgery center stated that their staff did not follow “proper sterilization procedures” and “failed to comply with other regulations regarding the dispensing and storage of medication, as well as infection control planning and procedures.” The health department counseled, “Although the risk of infection is low, out of an abundance of caution, HEALTHPLUS and the New Jersey Department of Health recommend patients get blood tests for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.”
The surgery center was closed by the state on September 7 for three weeks; in that interim period, according to HealthPlus, new staff members were hired, infection control was improved, and training was implemented for the new sterile-processing staff. All medical equipment was made pristine.- READ MORE