Outbreak nurse still has license

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Outbreak nurse still has license

By Marty Clear4/13/2010 Health News FloridaThe nurse who apparently infected seven patients in the Tampa Bay area with hepatitis C still has her Florida nursing license, and therefore may still be practicing. But where? There's no way of knowing because state health officials will not identify her.

The unidentified nurse was fired from Wellness Works, an alternative clinic in , in November after the outbreak was traced to her. The clinic’s director, Dr. Carol , said the nurse re-used a syringe and a medication vial meant for a single use. declined to give the name of the nurse on the advice of her attorney. But she agreed to look at a Department of Health list of Florida nurses whose licenses have been suspended or revoked since the outbreak was discovered; said the nurse’s name was not among them.That doesn't necessarily mean that the nurse is actively caring for patients; she may not be working, or may be working in a setting other than patient care. But she could be, and the person who hired her would have no way of knowing about her role in the outbreak.Because public officials conducted an investigation of the outbreak, the Department of Health knows who the nurse is. But those who know won't say, citing Florida laws that keep investigations secret until a probable-cause hearing is held unless an emergency suspension is ordered by the DOH Secretary. The outbreak consisted of eight cases of hepatatis C in patients of Wellness Works who had undergone intravenous treatments in 2009. Health officials figure that the nurse inadvertently transferred the virus from one patient -- who probably was unaware of the infection, which can be asymptomatic in the early stages -- to seven others. Preliminary genetic tests suggest the viral strains of the patients are related, indicating they had a common source. said the nurse re-used a syringe to draw a saline solution from a vial. The vial was supposed to be used just once, but contained enough of the solution for multiple uses. The syringe was not used directly on patients, she said. “Somebody got sloppy and bad things happened,” said.

http://www.healthnewsflorida.org/index.cfm/go/public.articleView/article/17125