Medical technician’s arrest shows system flaws

slimvictor

slimvictor

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"Darkness cannot be dissipated with more darkness.
Radiology technician David Kwiatkowski was a few weeks into a temporary job at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center-Presbyterian in 2008 when a co-worker accused him of lifting a syringe containing an addictive painkiller from an operating room and sticking it down his pants.

More syringes were found in his pockets and locker. A drug test showed he had fentanyl and other opiates in his system.

In what may be the scariest part of all, authorities say that when he swiped the fentanyl syringe, he left another one in its place, filled with a dummy fluid, ready to be used on a patient.

But Kwiatkowski did not go to jail. No one in Pittsburgh even called the police. Neither the hospital nor the medical staffing agency that placed him in the job informed the national accreditation organization for radiological technicians.

So just days after being fired, he was able to start a new job at a Baltimore hospital. And from there, he went from one hospital to another -- 10 hospitals altogether in the four years after he was fired in Pittsburgh. All of them told The Associated Press they had no knowledge of his disciplinary history when they hired him for temporary jobs.

The potentially grave cost of those loopholes became clear only after Kwiatkowski's arrest last month in New Hampshire, where he stands accused of infecting at least 31 Exeter Hospital patients with hepatitis C by stealing fentanyl syringes and replacing them with dirty ones tainted with his blood.

Now, thousands of hospital patients who may have crossed paths with Kwiatkowski in eight states -- Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York and Pennsylvania -- are being tested to see if they, too, are infected with hepatitis C, a sometimes life-threatening virus that can destroy the liver and cause cancer.

cont at
http://www.heraldextra.com/news/nat...cle_b78b4cb3-988b-5cb0-a7a3-c4d85c08ad09.html
 
Holy shit, how could anyone do that? I mean at least put new needles back, not your used ones. Doggamn that pisses me off!!
 
Exeter tech in multistate hepatitis C outbreak to plead guilty

A traveling hospital technician accused of infecting dozens of patients with hepatitis C through tainted needles told investigators he had been stealing drugs for more than a decade and was “killing a lot of people,” according to a plea agreement filed yesterday that would send him to prison for 30 to 40 years.

David Kwiatkowski, who has been jailed since his arrest in July 2012, is accused of stealing painkiller syringes from Exeter Hospital’s cardiac catheterization lab and replacing them with saline tainted with his blood. He has agreed to plead guilty to the 14 federal drug theft and tampering charges he faced in exchange for a lighter sentence. Had he been convicted at trial, he could have been sentenced to up to 98 years behind bars.

Thirty-two patients in New Hampshire have been diagnosed with the strain of hepatitis C carried by Kwiatkowski, who worked at 18 hospitals in seven states before being hired in New Hampshire in 2011. There have been seven cases in Maryland, six in Kansas and one in Pennsylvania. One of the Kansas patients has died, and hepatitis C, a blood-borne viral infection that can cause liver disease and chronic health issues, played a “contributing role,” the plea agreement said.

Linda Ficken of Andover, Kan., is among those Kwiatkowski is accused of infecting. Ficken, 71, said yesterday she’s glad he pleaded guilty but wishes the sentence were longer.


“It should’ve been life, since he gave us potentially a death sentence,” she said.

More than a year after Kwiatkowski’s arrest, Ficken said, she is still angry at Kwiatkowski and at the system that let him move from job to job after he was fired over allegations of drug use and theft.

The plea agreement includes details of an interview Kwiatkowski gave investigators in New Hampshire after his arrest in which he said he knew he’d been diagnosed in 2010 but continued to “swap out” syringes of the painkiller fentanyl. He said he had been stealing drugs since 2002 and estimated that he had swapped syringes at least 50 times in New Hampshire, at least 30 times in Georgia and more than 20 times in Kansas. Under the plea deal, Kwiatkowski would avoid criminal charges in the latter two states.

Asked if anyone helped him divert drugs in Exeter, Kwiatkowski said, “It was all me.” He then added, “and I’m going to kill a lot of people out of this,” the plea agreement states. Asked to clarify his comment, he replied, “I’m killing a lot of people.”
Click to expand...

cont at
http://www.concordmonitor.com/home/...ltistate-hepatitis-c-outbreak-to-plead-guilty
 
Absolutely people who are professionals in healthcare should be held to a higher standard..they are dealing with peoples lives everyday. And maybe, I'm sure addiction played a role but many people outside of the work environment said he was an asshole who was also known to be a pathological liar.

What I find so bad, just as bad almost as giving all those folks hep C is think about it. You are in the hospital as a patient, you are in extraordinary pain, enough pain that they are going to administer fentanyl. You are given an injection and it does zero for you for relief (because it has been replaced, not with meds but water). The nurse says..oh no you can't still be hurting that bad, you just had X amount of fent. And no we can't give you more meds because the docs orders says you have had your max dose for at least another 4 hours.....or even worse, he was caught stealing some of them from the operating room where they use fentanyl as an adjunct to sedate patients and put them to sleep for possibly major surgery...and all you are getting in your injection is water?? Holy crap. This isn't just about addiction..the guy is a psycho.
 
I completely agree with everything thats been said. This is horrifying. Whats even worse is that im sure many will use this as an argument against addicts and drug use/abuse in general. Yes he may have been an addict but as was stated above he clearly had bigger issues going on too.

I really hate when shit like this happens, or other stories like that guy shoving his used rig into a loaf of bread at the supermarket. I mean wtf people!? Not only does it reflect poorly on you as an individual, a lot of other drug users, especially IVers are going to get painted with that same brush.
 
Travelling hospital technician David Kwiatkowski pleads guilty to causing outbreak of

Travelling hospital technician David Kwiatkowski pleads guilty to causing outbreak of Hepatitis C across US

A TRAVELLING hospital technician accused of causing a multistate outbreak of hepatitis C across the US last year pleaded guilty to federal drug charges in New Hampshire under an agreement that calls for him to serve 30 to 40 years in prison.

The judge asked 34-year-old David Kwiatkowski was he wasn't going to trial. "Because I'm guilty," Kwiatkowski responded.

He said he was addicted to drugs and alcohol and was recently diagnosed with depression, for which he is taking several medications.

Kwiatkowski, who pleaded guilty to 14 charges of drug theft and tampering, will be sentenced at a later date, probably in November, US Attorney John Kacavas has said.

With his plea, Kwiatkowski will avoid criminal charges pertaining to patients outside New Hampshire. At least two dozen civil lawsuits related to his case are pending, most of them against Exeter Hospital, where he worked for 13 months.

Originally from Michigan, Kwiatkowski worked in 18 hospitals in seven states before being hired in New Hampshire in 2011.

As a traveling hospital technician, he was assigned by staffing agencies to fill temporary openings around the country.

Along the way, he contracted hepatitis C, and is accused of infecting others by stealing painkiller syringes and replacing them with saline-filled syringes tainted with his blood.

According to the plea agreement filed Monday, Kwiatkowski told investigators he had been stealing drugs since 2002 - the year before he finished his medical training - and that his actions were "killing a lot of people." His lawyers have declined numerous interview requests.

Forty-six people in four states in hospitals where Kwiatkowski worked have been diagnosed with the same strain of hepatitis C he carries: 32 patients in New Hampshire, seven in Maryland, six in Kansas, and one in Pennsylvania.

One of the Kansas patients died, and authorities say hepatitis C, which can cause liver disease and chronic health problems, played a contributing role.

In New Hampshire, some of the infected patients have suffered serious physical and emotional issues, according to the plea agreement.

Among the seven whose experiences led to the 14 charges, one man hasn't been able to work since developing hepatitis C, another has had trouble controlling his diabetes and sleeping at night and a third is afraid to kiss his wife on the lips, even though the blood-borne virus can't be transmitted that way.

In most of those seven cases, Kwiatkowski was not assigned to assist with the procedures but hospital records showed him accessing the painkillers. In one case, he came in on his day off and insisted on staying even after being told he could go home. One patient remembers not feeling much different after receiving two doses of what was supposed to be a powerful painkiller.


Read more: http://www.news.com.au/world-news/t...us/story-fndir2ev-1226697448727#ixzz2byaWIAUr
 
Along the way, he contracted hepatitis C, and is accused of infecting others by stealing painkiller syringes and replacing them with saline-filled syringes tainted with his blood.
Click to expand...

So he'd prepare a shot for the patient, give himself the shot, then fill the syringe with saline and inject the patient.

I guess using different syringes would've aroused suspicion, but is it so much to ask for him to put the meds into a vial instead of into his vein? You can always inject it later.

I'm guessing this happens a lot, though not how he did it.

How'd he get caught?
 
Yeah lets just keep augmenting the penalties for this. Maybe that will stop it. Or...wait. I wonder if this would have transpired if this doctor had consistent legal access to his chemical of dependence , via say, oh...a policy similar to that being implemented to supply nicotine to those addicted? Hmmm....nah. This is different. Its not the condition of the individual, i.e. addict, nope. Its the nature of the substance they are addicted to. Or wait. Wait. The guy is just a piece of shit period. Doesn't deserve to be contemplated in the context of someone with a legitimate disease. No, clearly just a result of Piece Of Shit Syndrome.
 
Yes...I completely agree synchro. I take subutex. It makes me normal. I become a tax paying hardworking citizen when not sick. Subutex should be more readily available to those in need. I'm sure he would have taken pause with a healthy does of bupe in his system before stealing the fentanyl.

Where were the safety nets to prevent this?
 
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