One story about a healthcare employee would really open your eyes on the unethical problems that exist in the hospital. I’ve experienced these myself but there are some more on the News too. According to CNN, a surgical tech, Kristen Diane Parker, who worked at Rose Medical Center in Denver, took patient’s analgesic and inject herself with it. She swapped the syringes and put it back on the table for use. She had hepatitis and the syringes passed on to many patients at the hospital while she was working there.

According to CNN, the number of patients who might have been infected was hundreds or even thousands at Rose Medical center. The medication was Fentanyl. She admitted that she took the patient’s Fentanyl each time to the bathroom and injects herself with it. She then replaced it with saline water and put it back on the tray. The problem was that she had hepatitis C. The hospital knew that she had hepatitis C but allowed her to work and taught her ways to prevent infection to patients. The only way that Hepatitis C can be transferred is through blood, bodily fluid or used needles which in this case are used needles. She told investigators that she might have contracted hepatitis C while sharing needles with other heroin users in New Jersey in 2008. She worked at Rose medical center from October, 2008 to April 2009.

She infected nine patients who had surgery at Rose’s medical center. These patients tested positive for hepatitis C. Parker. How did the hospital found out about her case? She was caught in an operating room where she wasn’t allowed to be there. She quit right afterward and they tested her for drugs. She tested positive for fentanyl and the hospital management contacted the DEA.

She is now in federal custody. She was charged with three drug related cases. She could face up to 20 years in prison if she was found to cause serious damage to the patients. If any of the patients die from hepatitis infection, she could face life in prison. What is Rose hospital doing at this time? They are contacting 4,700 patients that had surgery while Parker was working there. They wanted to make sure that patients are not infected with hepatitis C. Parker did this on her work shift and no one suspect her of doing it.

I wondered why no one notice her behavior. Patients would feel more pain if they took in saline solution instead of pain medication because she took their pain medication. Didn’t anyone observed her bizarre behavior that she was going to the bathroom all the time? The operating room is a critical place and other employees should have notice her behavior because it looked like she did it many times. She infected nine patients, meaning she might have done it more than 9 times. This is a lot of time for someone not to notice her behavior. I hope that other hospital learned from this experience and keep an eye out for their employees.