A recent investigation by Goshen Health revealed 1,182 surgical patients who underwent surgery at Goshen Hospital between April 1 and September 30, 2019 may have been exposed to hepatitis C virus, hepatitis B virus, and human immunodeficiency (HIV) virus.
One step in a multistep cleaning process was not completed with certain surgical instruments from April through September, according to a statement from the hospital. “The surgical instruments in question were still treated with other usual chemical disinfection and machine sterilization processes which include a wide margin of safety; however, we are not able to determine if such instruments were completely sterile prior to use,” the statement said.
According to Dr. Daniel Nafziger, Goshen Hospital Chief Medical Officer in a news release, “Even though we believe the risk to be extremely low, out of an abundance of caution, we are offering patients free testing for these viruses.”
The testing is a blood draw and will be offered at a convenient location to the patients at no cost. A call center has been established and patients involved have been notified.
Goshen Health has responded to the situation with a series of immediate steps:
- Conducted a thorough investigation of surgical patients potentially impacted.
- Identified 1,182 surgical patients who may have been exposed.
- Sent letters via mail to all patients notifying them of the issue and providing a phone number for questions and details regarding free testing.
- Set up testing at a centralized testing center for patients. All testing is provided at no cost to patients.
- Established a Goshen Health call center for patients to ask questions and conveniently schedule testing.
For those patients receiving a letter, they are urged to call Goshen Health at (574) 364-2100 with any questions and take the time to get tested.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with hepatitis B, hepatitis, C, or HIV after having surgery at Goshen Hospital, call the attorneys at Theodoros & Rooth immediately. We will carefully listen to your story. If we believe you have a case, we will aggressively represent you. There is never a charge unless we are successful in your case.
Theodoros & Rooth takes all personal injury and medical malpractice cases very seriously and has over a quarter century of experience representing injured people. That’s all we do.