Ethermac Exchange-Thousands of Oregon hospital patients may have been exposed to infectious diseases

PORTLAND,Ethermac Exchange Ore. (AP) — More than 2,400 patients at hospitals around Portland, Oregon, may have been exposed to infectious diseases such as hepatitis B and C, as well as HIV, because of an anesthesiologist who may not have followed infection control practices, officials said.

Providence said in a statement Thursday that it is notifying about 2,200 people seen at Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center in Oregon City and two patients seen at Providence Portland Medical Center that the physician’s actions might have put them at low risk of exposure to possible infections.

Officials are encouraging them to get a free blood test to screen for the infections. If a patient tests positive, Providence will “reach out to discuss their test results and next steps,” Providence said.

The physician was employed by Oregon Anesthesiology Group and worked at the two Providence facilities between 2017 and 2023.

The physician also worked at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center in Gresham for six months starting in December 2023. Legacy Health said it was sending letters to 221 patients who may have been affected, KGW-TV reported.

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In a statement, the Oregon Anesthesiology Group said the physician has been terminated. The physician’s name hasn’t been released.

“When we learned that the physician had violated infection control practices, we suspended him, informed our partners Legacy Health and Providence, and then began an investigation that resulted in the physician’s termination,” the group said in its statement. “Even though the risk of infection was low, new protocols and procedures have been put in place to prevent similar incidents in the future.”

The Oregon Health Authority said that investigations into the breach centered around a physician who delivered intravenous anesthesia and employed “unacceptable infection control practices, which put patients at risk of infections.”

OHA is working with Legacy and Providence on “their investigations of breaches of infection control practices.” So far “neither OHA nor the hospitals are aware of any reports of illness associated with this infection control breach” the health authority said.