A surgical technologist suspected of transmitting hepatitis C to at least 10 Rose Medical Center patients was fired from a New York hospital in 2008 for “poor performance,” according to a document described by a New York public-health official.
Kristen Diane Parker, 26, had a bad attitude and had trouble labeling specimens correctly and keeping track of instruments during surgery while she worked at Northern Westchester Hospital, the official said, reading from the document.
Officials from the Mount Kisco, N.Y., hospital did not return calls.
Parker is being held in Colorado on suspicion of stealing syringes of the painkiller fentanyl and replacing them with her used needles, possibly exposing surgery patients to hepatitis C.
Parker worked at Rose Medical Center in Denver from October 2008 to April and at Audubon Surgery Center in Colorado Springs from May to June. The facilities have informed 5,700 patients who had surgery during those periods that they may have been exposed to the virus.
The New York State Department of Health said Wednesday that it has information suggesting Parker engaged in similar conduct there. The department would not provide more details.
Rose Medical Center said it conducted its usual background and reference checks on the applicant, as well as the physical and drug tests once she’d been offered a job. Parker had no felony criminal background at the time, said Rose spokeswoman Leslie Teegarden.
Parker had two arrests for petty larceny in 2008, and she pleaded guilty to one and served two days in jail, according to federal court filings. Rose’s background check would not have uncovered those offenses because they were misdemeanors, Teegarden said.
Rose did not discuss what previous employment references Parker gave when applying but said that whatever references Parker did give were checked and proved adequate to hire her.
Audubon said much the same thing, noting that when Parker first contacted them about a job in April, she was still employed at Rose and they had no reason to suspect her job status. Parker asked Audubon not to check Rose for a reference, as that might jeopardize her job there, and Audubon complied.
“We did check references at Texas and New York hospitals, and both references checked out fine. We were not made aware of any termination of her employment,” said Joe Hodas, a spokesman for Audubon.
Parker began work at Audubon on May 4. She passed a drug test there despite having failed the test while employed at Rose in mid-April.
There is no licensing or registration system for surgery technicians that would alert a prospective employer to drug problems or regulators’ discipline.
If a nurse by contrast, is suspected of using drugs and endangering patients, the Colorado nursing board can immediately suspend a license while it investigates the allegations. Any prospective employer can then check a free, nationwide database that alerts regulators and the public to problems attached to any nurse’s legal status.
Parker worked at Christus St. John Hospital outside Houston before moving to New York. State health officials there are investigating.
Greg Griffin: 303-954-1241 or ggriffin@denverpost.com
