Kristen Diane Parker, Scrub Technician, Causes Major Hepatitis Scare In Colorado

DENVER — Kimberly Spencer's 9-year-old son went to Audubon Ambulatory Surgery Center last month for what was supposed to be a routine surgery. The rambunctious child stuck a BB in his ear and doctors had to operate to remove it.

What happened next shocked the family. They were notified that their son is one of 6,000 patients who may have been exposed to hepatitis C by a painkiller-addicted technician who had the disease and allegedly passed on dirty syringes to patients.

The technician has been jailed, thousands of rattled patients have been getting hepatitis C tests, and two medical facilities where she worked have been bombarded with questions about how they let it happen. Ten cases of hepatitis C have been linked to Rose Medical Center, where Kristen Diane Parker worked until April.

"It was originally a humorous child story we could write about in his baby book and now it's just gone south a little bit," Spencer said Friday as she awaited results of her son's blood test. "We're very optimistic, we think it's going to be just fine. It's still unnerving."

During a police interview videotaped June 30 that was played in court Thursday, the 26-year-old Parker told a detective that she kept dirty saline-filled syringes in her pocket and watched for opportunities when doctors and nurses left the room. She then allegedly stole syringes filled with Fentanyl from operating carts and replaced them with the used syringes.

"I didn't want to make it obvious to everyone that I was using," the 26-year-old Parker told the detective in the interview, saying she stole between 15 and 20 syringes of Fentanyl. "I knew my limit."

Health officials are conducting tests to determine if the 10 hepatitis C cases are definitively linked to Parker. Many people with hepatitis C don't know they are infected because they don't develop symptoms until years later.

Parker said she used between 100 to 250 micrograms of the drug each time, roughly enough medication for a 500-pound person, according to medical malpractice attorney Dr. Eric Steiner, a former cardiac anesthesiologist.

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Thousands of former surgery patients have contacted Denver's Rose Medical Center and Audubon Ambulatory Surgery Center in Colorado Springs for free blood tests being offered by both facilities. More than 1,900 former Rose patients have been tested, said hospital spokeswoman Leslie Teegarden.

An Audubon spokesman did not return messages Friday, but state health officials said those at that facility, including Spencer's son, will be tested again in about seven weeks because it takes that long for the disease to show up in the bloodstream. Hepatitis C is a treatable but incurable blood-borne disease that can cause serious liver problems.

Despite a hopeful attitude for Spencer, mundane every day occurrences have taken on disproportionate significance, such as Thursday when her son fell off his bike and skinned his knee.

"A simple little scrape to me is, 'Oh my gosh,' we need to take care of that, wash our hands, bandage him up. It makes you think twice, for everybody; the children he's playing with, the children I have at home. At the same time I don't want to overreact for him. He's nine.

"It's probably going to be like this for six more weeks until we know for sure."

Parker's case could end up being the first in Colorado where a patient got an infection from a health care worker who was tampering with drugs, said Dr. Ned Calonge, chief medical officer for the state health department.

Nationwide, there were four documented cases of nurses and doctors infecting patients with hepatitis C between 1992 and 2003, according to the latest information from Centers for Disease Control. A 1992 case cited in the CDC study involved a surgical technician who was using anesthesia medications.

Parker gave several reasons for using Fentanyl, which is a narcotic 80 to 100 times more powerful than morphine: to deal with a custody battle with her ex-husband over her 2-year-old son; six-hour stretches of being on her feet; and back pain from the physical requirements of moving patients around the operating rooms.

She also said she had a problem with painkillers in the past and she may have gotten hepatitis C when she used heroin last summer while living in New Jersey.

"She's going to take responsibility," Parker's attorney Gregory Graf said. He had argued that Parker should be released on bail because her cooperation with investigators proves she was not a flight risk.

A key point that could lead to more serious charges is whether she knew she was infected with hepatitis C.

She tested positive for the disease before starting her job at Rose in October, but she didn't follow up when told about it because she didn't have health insurance or money for a doctor and she got distracted with her new job.

She also said hospital officials didn't make it clear she tested positive. A federal magistrate judge disagreed and declared her a danger to the community and ordered her held without bond, saying her actions showed significant disregard for the safety of others. Her next hearing is Oct. 6.

Those infected with hepatitis C are not barred from working in health services, so long as standard precautions are taken, according to the CDC.

"She knew she had hepatitis C, she's a health care worker and she understands how this disease is spread," said Pat Criscito, 56, an author and freelance writer from Monument south of Denver. She underwent back and hand surgery at Rose last fall and spent a sleepless night worrying about hepatitis C while she waited for her test results. Criscito said a positive result would have been meant certain death because years of arthritis treatment have severely weakened her immune system.

"If I was going to die, she deserves life in prison. I can't understand how somebody can do that to another human being," Criscito said, who tested negative and is waiting the results of a second test.

Hospital and state health officials aren't sure how many people were injected with Parker's dirty needles or with saline solution contaminated when Parker allegedly dipped her dirty needles to fill bogus syringes to cover her tracks.

Denver police launched a drug investigation in April and the state health department began its investigation June 1 after former Rose surgery patients began testing positive for hepatitis C. Parker was arrested June 30 on state drug charges, but Denver police turned the case over to federal agents when they discovered the tampering.

(This version RECASTS headlines to correct that defendant is a technician, not a nurse)

Comments

[surgicaltechforrespect]

Question? Does it really matter if it was a Nurse or a tech? The fact is that people have been exposed. I work in an OR myself. The only way that a surgical tech have the chance of getting their hands on these drugs is if left unattented by a Dr. CRNA. or RN. State laws are inplace to prevent Techs to having access to these drugs, because it is out of our scope of practice. Maybe the blame should also be placed on the RN running that OR. But then again he/she is probably a bsn or msn so they are holier then Christ himself.

[Newsmonger]

"She then allegedly stole syringes filled with Fentanyl from operating carts and replaced them with the used syringes"

I do not know much about how Fentanyl works and what it usess are in the operating room beyond what the passage indicates, so I will appreciate your comments.

If I understand the passage correctly, this is a painkiller given to people who are about going under the knife for sugery and the purpose is reduce or eliminate the pains that one would have otherwise gotten.

Now, if one is given a saline or something else and not the actual drug; then the person will feel the knife cutting through his/her fresh....my question then is, they would have noticed it then. I do not see myself lying down and taking those pains without screaming or yelling and kicking off everything probe attached to my person.

Or is it that because a surgery patient is also given a lot of other drugs including the one that numbs your nervous system, completlely relax your muscles; such that you can really feel the pains and you are fighting by trying to send necessary commands to your legs, hands, mouth, etc but those commands are not been carried out because your nerves, muscles cannot react because they are numb?

If this is the case, many people who might have had that horrible experience might be coming out to tell their painful experiences.

[Sam T]

From my understanding, she took pre-loaded Fentanyl syringes from operating rooms and injected herself, then stuck the dirty needle in a saline source and loaded it with saline to make it look unused.

My experience as a patient, and also someone who has had friends and family operated on, is that anesthesiologists give patients a combination of drugs, and monitor the patient's state throughout the procedure. As different people are more or less susceptible to different drugs, it would not be unusual for someone to be given more of something during a procedure.

[Sam T]

When I was operated on in November, the anesthesiologists called me the night before to go over the plan for the operation. Out of curiosity, I asked for what drugs I was going to be given. At first she was vague (oh, a mixture of things), and when I pressed lightly, she began to reel off a list of formal names of drugs (which I could neither remember nor write down, given the speed and number of items), clearly designed to get me to give up trying to understand. As I didn't want to have an aggravated doctor (let alone the one responsible for my breathing) working on me the next morning, I made light of the issue and we moved on. I've come to understand that part of the issue is that the drug mixture is partly dynamic, and can change as the patient's observed condition changes. Part of the issue, too, seems to be that some doctors, regardless of how skilled, have less than ideal patient skills, which may include the belief that patients don't need to know (or don't have the ability to understand) what the doctors are about to do, so answering questions is at best a waste of time, if not an affront to the professionalism of the doctor.

[5150]

American doctors, American nurses, American psych participate in torture. If you value your health you must demand the right to refuse treatment. Michael Jackson, Elvis, and Heath Ledger died from health treatment. It's called iatrogenic medicine and it's a nasty business. Business ethics.

[SusanStoHelit]

So to avoid getting a disease, or to get the drug - she decided it was OK to expose others to this disease. And her lawyer says she's taking responsibility. Obviously not - if she was to recognize what she did - she'd be dead. There's no way to repay exposing that many people to a deadly disease.

[GoodFeathers]

See this is what the government controlled health insurance does to the quality of the medical service. Government can't do anything right. We need a small government. I was against the universal health insurance act when president Obama's administration passed it along with commies like Pelosi, Reid and Franken.

Wait.....Ohh...this is still July of 2009. Boy...I need to hike some Appalachian trails to keep my mind focused.

[aweissnet]

Well, you could try some of this drug rather tahn the Appalachian trail hike. Since our capitalistic health care system encourages only the best and the brightest, I'm guessing Fentanyl must boost brain power; otherwise, why would this woman do it during work hours? Kills pain, boosts competence and strength, sharpens cognitive skills, you know ... an all-around great drug.

I'm really glad to know we're in exceptional hands when we go to a medical facility because of the free market system, aren't you?

[MMIIXX]

"government controlled health insurance" works for the rest of the world ,Why not in America ?
Greed controls your system now ,hows that working for you ?

[shockmagog]

Your sarcastic prose is set at a high level.

[Sam T]

LOL. Good sarcasm! As you understand, this was all capitalism at its finest. My insurance company took 5 months to approve my operation (one which is described as the "gold standard" in treating my condition), and I had numerous (12? I lost count) physician visits and tests done to "prove" that I needed the operation, that it was safe for me to undergo, etc.. Of course, had I been approved just 2 weeks more quickly, my procedure would have taken place BEFORE this drug-addicted, Hepatitis C infected, irresponsible technician was hired by Rose Medical Center.

Now, I'm holding a notice that I may have been exposed to Hepatitis C, and have learned that it is a pretty terrible thing to have. Sigh.

[GoodFeathers]

I agree. I haven't had any MRIs or CAT scans in my life until last year my doctor ordered an MRI to diagnose my pain in the abdomen. He asked his nurse to schedule an appoint with a local testing center. She first picked up the phone and called my employer provided group health insurance company and asked if I am allowed to have an MRI. My jaw dropped because I always heard republicans beating their chest claiming that what we have now is the best health insurance(care) system and only my doctor decides what is good for me. The insurance company told the nurse to wait for five minutes for the decision. I am sure the insurance company called its bean counter and asked him/her if my MRI will cut into their profit. Fortunately for me, the nurse received the approval. BTW, I hope everything turns out OK for you.

[starbright]

Well I guess this low-life can forget all about her custody battle. Unless her ex-husband is Charles Manson, I don't see how he can lose.

[GoodFeathers]

Hahaha that was a good one!

[GoodFeathers]

"according to medical malpractice attorney Dr. Eric Steiner, a former cardiac anesthesiologist."

He sure knows where the money is!

[zCHUPACABRAz]

This scumb@g is an oxygen thief and should spend the rest of her life in prison!!!

[gemzenith]

I work in a factory making plastic drink ware and we've all been tested for drugs.Twice!And they also have the right to test us randomly.And we make plastic stuff, not deal with lives!How can that be?why are we so tightly watched, but yet this woman practically flaunted her use?

[MMIIXX]

It will be related to work place insurance not common sense ...if you are at work stoned you might hurt yourself running a injection molding machine and the insurance company will have to pay out so they give discounts to employers who drug screen their employees...its about profit not people ...

[MintysMom]

What I want to know is how many health care workers who see patients have Hepatitis? My step dad was a gardener for a major large city and he was regularly tested and vaccinated. And all he did was landscape and pick up trash on occasion.

[Sam T]

Well, I had the joy of going to the Post Office today to pick up my registered letter from Rose Medical Center telling me that I am one of the patients operated on between October 21, 2008 and April 13, 2009 at Rose who may have been exposed to Hepatitis C.

The letter provides the barest of details "...a terminated employee - a surgical scrub technician - may have put some surgery patients at risk for exposure to hepatitis C". The 2 page letter (one double-sided page) includes two enclosures:

1. A form, dated July 6, 2009, providing for two tests at an Quest Diagnostics center. The two tests are:
28816-7 RMC Hepatitis C Panel #1
82511V Venipuncture
The diagnostic code is: v72.9
The tests are billed to Rose Medical Center

2. A release form, authorizing Quest to test my blood for Hepatitis C, said tests may include:
a. ALT:
b. Anti-HCV EIA with or without reflexive HCV RNA:
c. HCV RNA PCR.
The form authorizes the release of "protected health information (PHI) to Rose, the Colorado Dept. of Public Health, the CSC, and to "governmental organizations or agencies".

I'll keep you posted, as events transpire.

[MintysMom]

Wow! Scary. I hope everything works out okay.

[Sam T]

Thank you for your kind remark.

The available reports offer snippits of information.
1. The court records allege she "may" have infected 6,000 people (5,000 at RMC, the others at Audubon),
2. The scrub tech. stated she did not know she had Hep. C, and that she "only" used Fentanyl syringes on herself, and the returned infected with her blood and filled with saline, "15 or 20" times, and only at Rose.
3. Documents presented in court got her remanded.
4. She stated she got addicted to Heroin before joining Rose in October, but that she didn't begin "borrowing" of syringes until January.
5. She said she used 150 to 250 mcg. of Fentanyl per day. Per http://www.baxter.com/products/anesthesia/anesthetic_pharmaceuticals/downloads/fentanyl.pdf, dosages are in the range of 50 to 100 mcg, so she needed more than one syringe per day, every day she worked.

Point 2 has been proven to be untrue.
Point 4 asks if she was addicted to heroin upon hiring, how could she wait to "borrow" until January?
Point 5 suggests that her usage was more than "15-20" syringes total.

I am concerned that last weekend I had symptoms that almost led me to go to the ER:
Pain over the liver
Nausea
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Loss of appetite
Stools become pale in color

[GoodFeathers]

I hope your test is negative!

[aweissnet]

Kind of early to be doing an ALT test. I think they're over-compensating, lest people begin entertaining ideas that they were negligent! (And they WERE!)

Whatever happened to the RIBA test?

I wish you the best of luck. I lived with the fear of this disease for a few years myself, a decade or so back, and it was a scary time. I think they've made advances in the care of this disease, but should it go awry, I would encourage a lawsuit to protect yourself and your loved ones, financially and otherwise.

[Malkin71]

Does Quest have a monopoly on medical testing...they are the only company I know and are evidently in CA too?

[TXfemmom]

This woman should never see the light of day again. Actually, it is illegal for anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists to leave narcotics drawn up in syringes unattended. Any institution which did should face serious felony charges.

I have been disabled and unable to work as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist since 1994 but even then I refused to draw up narcotics and medications which were open to abuse ahead of being in the operating room for good, or unless they were safely stashed in my pocket. Anesthesiologists complained bitterly to me because it took two minutes to draw them up once we were in the operating room with the patient. We had an anesthesiologist who was the picture child for addiction in his behavior and after I had worked with him one day, in which he drew up the Fentanyl and it didn't seem to work properly, the leftover cc of Fentanyl went directly to the pharmacist and I asked to have them check to see if it was Fentanyl of saline. They had a light which could do a pretty good job of telling the difference. It was saline and the pharmacist and I confronted our Chief of the Dept. and demanded that they do a drug screen on the guy. He went ballistic and said that if we repeated it we would never work again. The guy overdosed at work a week later and everyone KNEW. I hated that Chief until the day he died.

[MMIIXX]

"Hepatitis C is a treatable but incurable blood-borne disease that can cause serious liver problems."

"incurable blood-borne disease" this statement is totally wrong ,with the use of Interferon Hep C can be cured .I had Hep C and was asymptomatic ,only discovering it during minor surgery .

I don't know if its the American way of treating the symptoms for the rest of the patients life or just an error in your writing .The treatment is expensive but it is a "cure",drug companies seem to prefer people to stay on life-long medication as it increases their profits .Look at the history of ulcer mediation ,drug companies fought to acknowledge that ulcers where caused by a bacteria and could be cured with antibiotics .After all a life time of relief would show a larger profit than a single course of antibiotics.

I live in New Zealand so the cost to me for this CURE was nothing ,nada ,zero....but we have free health care ...you should try it .

[MintysMom]

Unfortunately, not everyone can tolerate interferon and if you happen to be in this country and can't get it, then it's no cure, is it? Also, from what I know of the therapy, you get one round of it and you cannot try it again. It's not 100% curative for everyone.

[MMIIXX]

Any chemo has for and against but to say Hep C is an ""incurable blood-borne disease"" is totally inaccurate. It removes hope with its misinformation ,needlessly.

[aweissnet]

Don't want to split hairs, but you don't have hepatitus C. You were exposed to it, but didn't get the disease, and won't. You have antibodies, and the DNA to show for it, but you do not have hepatitus C, which is actually a disease. My understanding is, you are not even a carrier, since the virus didn't take root in your system and replicate.

[pipetoe]

You'll never hear of these stories, and there will be many more of them happening, once federal health care is in place.

[youvegot2bekidding]

Because.....?

[pipetoe]

The kind of people that will be working for the government in health care....

[Quaoar]

How so?

[MMIIXX]

what rubbish ...and your reasons are ?

look around the world ,you have the worlds best medical technology AND THE WORLDS WORST HEALTH CARE.
More money goes to "running" the system than goes on treatment.

Healthcare should be about people not profits.

[Sam T]

"Healthcare should be about people not profits."

I couldn't agree more.

[pipetoe]

That's what it should be about...duh!!!
but it's about power when you have the government controlling it.

[PDXTransplant]

Another rightie with the 'scare' tactics. Stop already.

[MintysMom]

What a totally uninformed id.iot.

[Ryan2x1610]

This wouldn't have even been a story had she been able to get treatment when she was first diagnosed. I can sympathize, because if the same were to happen to me tomorrow, I'd be in pretty much the same spot, with the same choice.

The rest, the heroin, the addiction, the lying, is all her own idiotic fault, but this story would have been over had she access to a minimum level of health care.

[valerief]

Absolutely right!

[pipetoe]

Why would you think she would get that treatment? It will be rationed..a drug addict not so much.

[quindy]

It will be rationed in your head.