Goshen Hospital, Indiana, faces legal action after more than 1,000 patients were potentially exposed to HIV and hepatitis because it failed to properly sterilize surgical equipment.
On Friday, a patient filed a lawsuit against Goshen Health.
The hospital sent letters to authorities who said the hospital mentioned that a “small portion of surgical patients” could have been exposed to HIV or hepatitis through unsterilized equipment between April and September.
Last week, the hospital said in a statement, “In April, one of seven sterilization technicians working at the hospital failed to complete one step in a multi-step cleaning process of surgical equipment.”
Goshen Hospital issued a letter signed by its president and CEO Randal Christophel and CMO Daniel Nafziger, which stated that the “chance of infection was extremely remote,” but it recommended patients to get screened for HIV, and hepatitis B and C.
The hospital said that the surgical equipment underwent chemical cleansing and disinfection with the ultrasonic cleaner, high steam pressure and temperature, but it skipped a step of sterilization.
Steven Alvarez, Attorney with the Alvarez Law Office in Crown Point, which filed the lawsuit, said, “A single test will not necessarily allay fears of infection.”
HIV and hepatitis may take months to detect during screening, which is why multiple tests are required to ensure they are healthy.
Alvarez explained that it is not just patients who are affected by HIV or hepatitis but their spouses and sexual partners, as the viruses can be transmitted through sexual intercourse.
Goshen Health said, “Since learning of the breach in procedure, the hospital bought new equipment, used in only a few other hospitals, to reduce the chance of human error.”
The hospital has also set up a call center to help patients know more about screening.
“While the testing and communication goes beyond what may be needed, we want to take every precaution to ensure the safety and well-being of our community,” said Goshen. It added, “When we make a mistake, we want our community to be confident that we will not hide from our failure, but take action to correct the error and ensure that it does not happen again.”
