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June 21. 2012 11:20PM
Two legislators pushing bills in wake of hepatitis outbreak
EXETER — A newly formed patient advocacy group and local lawmakers are vowing to push for new legislation they hope will prevent another disease outbreak similar to the hepatitis C situation at Exeter Hospital.
Rep. Marshall “Lee” Quandt, R-Exeter, plans to sponsor a bill in September requiring mandatory drug testing for hospital employees, while state Rep. John Reagan, R-Deerfield, said he intends to work with House members to craft legislation requiring hospitals to immediately shut down affected areas for at least 96 hours on the same day that a report of an incident is made to the state.
In Exeter Hospital’s case, the cardiac catheterization laboratory and recovery unit — where the liver-attacking virus is believed to have spread through blood exposure — remained open for 10 days before being closed.
“You just can’t allow a nightmare like what happened at Exeter Hospital to happen again. The public trusts hospitals to not make things worse. People who didn’t have infections now have infections,” said Reagan, chairman of the Health and Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee.
Some 19 patients and one hospital employee have tested positive for an identical strain of the potentially deadly virus.
State health officials suspect it was spread by an infected hospital worker who injected drugs meant for patients and then allowed the syringes to be used on patients.
Elenore Casey Crane of Nashua, a former state representative, and Boston malpractice attorney and former cardiac surgeon Domenic Paolini are also advocating for change and have teamed up to form a nonprofit group called the Patients Speak to push legislation and support victims.
“These are long overdue reforms,” Crane said.
Quandt and the Patients Speak group will host a medical and legal information night Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m. in Exeter Town Hall, where a panel will offer information about the disease, prognosis and major advances in treatment in addition to answering questions about medical insurance and legal issues.
Paolini, who said he has some clients related to the outbreak and at least one who tested positive, has been critical of the hospital’s handling of the situation. He insisted that he will not profit from the outbreak and will donate any fees to the new organization and others aimed at improving health care.
“No one should profit from this tragedy, especially the lawyers who are in the community,” Paolini said.
Quandt said he’s been unhappy with the information provided by state health officials in the wake of the outbreak.
He urged the state Department of Health and Human Services to hold a meeting to provide more information and answer questions. A meeting was quickly organized and held last Friday night, but he felt many questions went unanswered for the hundreds who have undergone testing in recent weeks and those who tested positive for the same strain of the virus.
“Quite frankly, I didn’t think we got the answers we needed. The (state) had no idea what it costs to do these tests. They had no idea if they were going to be reimbursed,” Quandt said.
Quandt said he can sympathize with the victims because he contracted a form of hepatitis in 1976 and recalled how he suffered.
“Nobody’s picking up on what it’s like to be a hepatitis victim,” he said. “I was flat on my back for four weeks and walking wounded for two more after that. I got to a point where I didn’t even have the strength to crawl out of bed,” Quandt said.
Quandt said people need to be better educated about the disease and what it will mean for the victims.
“Are they going to be able to get life insurance down the road? I have people calling and telling me their families are treating them like lepers. There’s a total lack of understanding of what this disease,” Quandt said, adding that the illness could also affect health insurance for the victims.
Jason Schreiber may be reached at jschreiber@newstote.com.
jschreiber@newstote.com
Rep. Marshall “Lee” Quandt, R-Exeter, plans to sponsor a bill in September requiring mandatory drug testing for hospital employees, while state Rep. John Reagan, R-Deerfield, said he intends to work with House members to craft legislation requiring hospitals to immediately shut down affected areas for at least 96 hours on the same day that a report of an incident is made to the state.
In Exeter Hospital’s case, the cardiac catheterization laboratory and recovery unit — where the liver-attacking virus is believed to have spread through blood exposure — remained open for 10 days before being closed.
“You just can’t allow a nightmare like what happened at Exeter Hospital to happen again. The public trusts hospitals to not make things worse. People who didn’t have infections now have infections,” said Reagan, chairman of the Health and Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee.
Some 19 patients and one hospital employee have tested positive for an identical strain of the potentially deadly virus.
State health officials suspect it was spread by an infected hospital worker who injected drugs meant for patients and then allowed the syringes to be used on patients.
Elenore Casey Crane of Nashua, a former state representative, and Boston malpractice attorney and former cardiac surgeon Domenic Paolini are also advocating for change and have teamed up to form a nonprofit group called the Patients Speak to push legislation and support victims.
“These are long overdue reforms,” Crane said.
Quandt and the Patients Speak group will host a medical and legal information night Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m. in Exeter Town Hall, where a panel will offer information about the disease, prognosis and major advances in treatment in addition to answering questions about medical insurance and legal issues.
Paolini, who said he has some clients related to the outbreak and at least one who tested positive, has been critical of the hospital’s handling of the situation. He insisted that he will not profit from the outbreak and will donate any fees to the new organization and others aimed at improving health care.
“No one should profit from this tragedy, especially the lawyers who are in the community,” Paolini said.
Quandt said he’s been unhappy with the information provided by state health officials in the wake of the outbreak.
He urged the state Department of Health and Human Services to hold a meeting to provide more information and answer questions. A meeting was quickly organized and held last Friday night, but he felt many questions went unanswered for the hundreds who have undergone testing in recent weeks and those who tested positive for the same strain of the virus.
“Quite frankly, I didn’t think we got the answers we needed. The (state) had no idea what it costs to do these tests. They had no idea if they were going to be reimbursed,” Quandt said.
Quandt said he can sympathize with the victims because he contracted a form of hepatitis in 1976 and recalled how he suffered.
“Nobody’s picking up on what it’s like to be a hepatitis victim,” he said. “I was flat on my back for four weeks and walking wounded for two more after that. I got to a point where I didn’t even have the strength to crawl out of bed,” Quandt said.
Quandt said people need to be better educated about the disease and what it will mean for the victims.
“Are they going to be able to get life insurance down the road? I have people calling and telling me their families are treating them like lepers. There’s a total lack of understanding of what this disease,” Quandt said, adding that the illness could also affect health insurance for the victims.
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Jason Schreiber may be reached at jschreiber@newstote.com.
jschreiber@newstote.com