Healthcare officials in Oregon warned last week that over 2,400 people who were patients at both the Providence and Legacy Health medical facilities in the Portland area may have been exposed to hepatitis or even HIV because an anesthesiologist may not have adhered to proper infection control protocols.
According to a statement from Providence, roughly 2,200 patients at its Willamette Falls Medical Center and another two patients from its Portland Medical Center had been notified about the protocol breach.
Providence confirmed that the risk of infectious exposure involved a physician from the Oregon Anesthesiology Group who formerly worked at its facilities.
The same physician also worked at Legacy Health’s Mount Hood Medical Center for six months, starting last December.
Legacy said it notified the 221 patients impacted.
The anesthesiologist worked at Providence medical facilities until November 2023 when it switched from Oregon Anesthesiology Group to Sound Physicians.
Oregon Anesthesiology Group said in a statement that the doctor in question was suspended after Providence and Legacy Health informed the group that the unnamed physician had violated infection control protocols.
The group launched an internal investigation into the allegations “that resulted in the physician’s termination,” the statement said.
Oregon Anesthesiology Group said that while the risk was low, it put in place “new protocols and procedures” to ensure that similar incidents did not occur in the future.
According to Providence, the breach in infection control protocols placed patients “at a low risk of exposure” to various infectious diseases, including HIV and hepatitis B and C. The patients were notified via the facility’s “MyChart” notifications and encouraged to undergo blood testing “at no cost.”
As of now, Providence, Legacy Health, and Oregon Anesthesiology Group are not aware of any reported illnesses in connection to the breach.
