State lawmakers are working on a measure to create a Registry Board for Medical Technicians. The action comes in the wake of last summer’s outbreak of Hepatitis C at Exeter Hospital that left 32 patients infected.
David Kwiatkowski, a traveling medical technician, allegedly injected himself with painkillers before reusing syringes on patients, transmitting the Hepatitis C virus.
Representative Tim Copeland is proposing a bill to create an oversight board for all med techs in the state.
Copeland: “Everybody understands that there is an issue, everybody understands what happened, and everybody knows that something needs to be fixed.”
A new registry board would maintain a database of med techs in the state, and have the authority to suspend anyone found in violation of certain standard of conduct, including drug use.
But the new board would have little authority to investigate activities performed before someone applies to work in New Hampshire.
Bill sponsors say only a national registry can close all the loopholes.
