A potential hepatitis C breakout forces Americans to reconsider the delicate balance they’ve created between personal liberty, employer rights and public safety.
Some Colorado patients and observers are incredulous that suspect Kristen Parker could work in a hospital operating room when her then-employer, Rose Medical Center, knew she had hepatitis C.
But the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act was written in part to protect employees like Parker, whose job abilities and performance should not have been affected by her viral status. And Parker’s alleged switching of dirty syringes to obtain Fentanyl had nothing to do with the kind of accidental transmissions that hospital procedures prepare for, health officials said.
“What we have seen is that good infection-control practices are effective in preventing transmission of hepatitis C and scores of other diseases to patients,” said Arjun Srinivasan, medical epidemiologist with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
The same hand-washing, sterilization and use of barriers already employed by all hospital workers are enough to prevent transmission by ill employees, Srinivasan said. “We don’t recommend any kind of categorical restriction just because of hepatitis C,” he said.
