Health Inspectors Discover Disastrous Health Practices at Medical Facility Leading to Hepatitis C

Las Vegas, NVHealth Inspectors coming into a medical facility, Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada, have discovered disastrous health practices, which have been the impetus behind a Hepatitis C outbreak. The Hepatitis C outbreak was reported in February of this year, but the investigation began in January of this year. The Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada has since been closed, but an investigation continues to probe into the details surrounding the disease outbreak in the community.

It was quite a shock for investigators when they found that once used forceps for biopsies were used again. The information was obtained through face to face interviews with employees of the medical center and an analysis of the center's records. Some nursing employees have disclosed that they were instructed to reuse syringes and vials of anesthesia. Also, medical items such as: bite guards, syringes, shared anesthesia, and single vial doses of medication were all reused or shared among patients. An employee disclosed in an interview that in one case only four bite guards were allowed to be used per day. A distressed employee quit after only working at the facility for one day. The employee attempted to complain about the misleading medical record keeping and reuse of equipment, but they received no attention. The back up of blood into the syringes is what is highly suspected of causing the Hepatitis C outbreak. More than 40,000 patients that had been treated at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada have been notified by mail that they need to be tested for Hepatitis B, C, and HIV.

So far six people are known to have been treated for contacting Hepatitis C after receiving medical attention at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada. Five of the six people were all treated on the same day in September of 2007. The sixth person is reported to have been infected during July of 2007.

During March of this year a seventh patient was identified as having contracted Hepatitis C as well at another medical facility owned by the same company as Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada. Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada has been closed.

The majority owner of the center, Dr. Dipak Desai has had his passport flagged. If he were to try to leave the country, the state would be immediately contacted. Dr. Desai as well as all other physicians that were employed at the facility have not made any public statements to date regarding the investigation or the medical facility. Reports have shown that during for four separate incidences, a doctor was facilitating two procedures at the same time instead of fully concentrating on one at a time.

Mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman, intends for Dr. Desai to be subpoenaed as well as other physicians of the facility to testify about the practices of the facility. The city will mull over the idea of revoking Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada's business license. Suspension of the facility's licensed was put into place on February 29, 2008 by the city.

By Delsia Hartford