Shore hospital patients warned of possible HIV / hepatitis exposure
SOMERS POINT, N.J. - As many as 213 patients at Shore Medical Center may have been exposed to HIV or hepatitis because of drug tampering by an employee, the hospital said Thursday.
SOMERS POINT, N.J. - As many as 213 patients at Shore Medical Center may have been exposed to HIV or hepatitis because of drug tampering by an employee, the hospital said Thursday.
The employee, who worked in the hospital's pharmacy, has not been identified publicly but has been terminated, according to a statement.
"We have been working with public health authorities to determine if patients could have been exposed to blood-borne pathogens at Shore through contact with this employee's blood," said a statement issued by the hospital Thursday.
Hospital officials and other authorities, including the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office, are investigating whether any patients who were the recipients of intravenous medications between July 1, 2013, and Sept. 17, 2014, subsequently contracted HIV or hepatitis B or C, the statement said.
The medical center would not say whether anyone has tested positive so far.
Shore Medical, across the bay from Ocean City, has notified all patients who may have been affected by the tampering. The alert involves patients who received morphine or hydromorphone as part of their treatment, and may have come in contact with an employee's blood as a result. It also is recommending that anyone treated with those drugs at the hospital from a full year before the incident also be tested.
"We take patient care very seriously. Through our safety protocol, we identified inconsistencies in a former pharmacy employee's work. We immediately suspended the employee and conducted a thorough internal investigation, the employee was terminated, and we notified the proper regulatory agencies," the statement reads.
Brian Cahill, director of marketing and public relations for Shore Medical, said the facility would have no comment beyond the four-paragraph statement.
Patients and visitors arriving for appointments Thursday or to see patients had mixed feelings about the situation.
"My two kids were born here, and I think it's always been a pretty good hospital. It sounds like an isolated incident, so I'm not too concerned about it," said Cynthia Gowdy, 36, of Ocean City, who was there to visit a friend.
But John Sloane, 63, of Northfield, said the "patient safety issue" concerned him.
"It's very worrisome to me," said Sloane, who arrived for a medical appointment. "I'm going to find out as much information as I can about this."
The hospital said it has provided free testing and support to the affected patients "through every step," and created a call center for them. The medical center has also partnered with local health agencies for the duration of the testing period "in order to be extremely cautious."
The New Jersey Department of Health confirmed that it is working with Shore Medical Center to investigate "a potential infection-control breach," said Dawn Thomas, a spokeswoman.
"Although the risk of infection is low, out of an abundance of caution the Department of Health is recommending that affected patients receive testing for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV," Thomas said.
The state also has consulted with the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as it does routinely during such an investigation, she said.
609-652-8382
@JacquelineUrgo