Tagged: exeter hospital

State officials investigating the outbreak of Hepatitis C at Exeter Hospital continue pressing for access to patient medical records.

In August, the hospital went to court seeking a protective order, arguing that the Division of Public Health Services’ broad request for records violates both state and federal privacy laws.

Today, the state filed its response in Merrimack Superior Court. It says that healthcare providers are required to share information during a public health investigation.

Patient privacy has become the latest front in the Hepatitis C outbreak at Exeter Hospital.

As part of their ongoing investigation, the State’s Division of Public Health is seeking access to the private health records of Exeter patients. But the Hospital says the request violates privacy laws, and is asking the courts to intervene.

More than 1,200 patients potentially exposed to the outbreak of Hepatitis C at Exeter Hospital were tested at public clinics last week, according to officials at Health and Human Services.

Anyone who received treatment in Exeter’s intensive care unit or operating rooms between April, 2011 and May of this year has been asked to get tested.

Former employee David Kwiatkowski is accused of reusing syringes of pain medication at the hospital during that time period.

So far, 32 patients have tested positive for matching strains of the blood-borne virus.

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday the confirmation of another patient infected with Hepatitis C while receiving treatment at Exeter Hospital.

This new case, confirmed by the Department of Public Health Services, brings the total number of infected up to 33. That includes David Kwiatkowski, the former hospital employee charged with stealing drugs and refilling the used syringes with saline solution. They were later reused on patients.

Exeter Hospital is expanding its testing clinics to a third day, in its effort to explore the scope of the Hepatitis C outbreak.

The hospital where the Hepatitis C outbreak began is now offering testing from seven in the morning to six at night, Monday and Tuesday, and from seven to noon on Wednesday. The state is also offering free clinics through August eighteenth.

The state declared a public  health incident ahead of the clinics as more than three thousand people were sent letters recommending they get tested.

The Department of Health and Human Services has revised its plan for testing patients who were exposed to the Hepatitis C outbreak at Exeter Hospital.

DHHS says that during the past week the estimated number of patients who might have been exposed to Hepatitis C has been reduced to around 3,300, because many of the names on the list were repeats. They say in the new plan to test those patients there are 4 locations: in Stratham, Plaistown, Manchester and Rochester starting August 10th.  

The investigation continues into the Hepatitis C outbreak at Exeter Hospital is moving to several other states. This week officials at a hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York, are testing about 25 patients who underwent procedures at the time technician David Kwiatowski worked there.