Thousands of patients who were treated at two hospitals in Portland, Oregon, are being told to get bloods tests because of an “infection control breach” linked to an anesthesiologist that may have exposed them to HIV and hepatitis B and C.
About 2,400 people who were patients of two health care providers — Providence and Legacy Health — are potentially affected and have been advised to take tests “out of an abundance of caution.”
Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center in Oregon City said in a statement that about 2,200 of its patients, and two patients at Providence Portland Medical Center, have been informed.
“The actions of this physician might have put patients at a low risk of exposure to possible infections, including hepatitis B and C and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV),” a Providence spokesperson said in a statement.
The spokesperson said that the possible exposures were a result of someone working for a third-party contractor, the Oregon Anesthesiology Group, who worked at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center from December 2023 to May of this year.
The anesthesiologist, who has not been identified, is no longer employed by Oregon Anesthesiology Group, the company said in a statement.
The company said the tests would be offered for free. If a patient tests positive, Providence will reach out to discuss their test results and next steps,” the statement said.
Legacy Health said it was contacting 211 patients treated at the Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center who may have been infected. Legacy said this was “an isolated situation” linked to Oregon Anesthesiology Group.
“Upon learning of this situation, we immediately suspended the provider and launched a comprehensive investigation in accordance with regulations and with our policies and procedures,” Legacy said in a statement.
The Oregon Anesthesiology Group’s statement said that it had suspended the physician after launching its own investigation.
“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 statement said.
NBC News has contacted the Oregon Health Authority for comment.
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