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August 08. 2012 11:13PM
Hepatitis C panel looks at drug-testing
BRENTWOOD — An ad hoc committee met for the first time Wednesday night to review failures in the health care industry that led to the hepatitis C outbreak at Exeter Hospital — with an eye to crafting legislation to prevent a similar crisis.
The committee assembled by state Rep. Lee Quandt, R-Exeter, will work with him on a proposed bill requiring random drug testing for hospital employees, and possibly others who have access to drugs in the medical profession.
Quandt said the committee will likely consider other bills related to the outbreak, including requiring medical technicians to be licensed in the state.
“Anything we put on the book is one step above what we have,” Quandt told the committee during the two-hour meeting at the Rockingham County Nursing Home.
The committee includes Quandt and state Reps. Tim Copeland, R-Stratham, and Rich DiPentima, D-Portsmouth, former state Rep. Roger Rogers of Stratham, former state Sen. Robert Clegg Jr. of Hudson, and others in the medical, legal and insurance industries.
The committee was organized in response to the outbreak allegedly caused by former Exeter Hospital medical technician David Kwiatkowski, 33, who is facing federal charges. He is accused of illegally diverting drugs meant for patients by injecting himself and then leaving the dirty needles, which were used on patients.
Some 31 former Exeter patients have been infected with a strain of hepatitis C that matches the one Kwiatkowski was diagnosed with before he came to Exeter Hospital in April 2011.
While Exeter Hospital has said Kwiatkowski underwent drug testing when he was hired through a staffing agency, Quandt and other committee members said that's not enough. They would like to see random testing for hospital employees, and possibly those who have access to drugs in places such as pharmacies and nursing homes.
“There are a lot of places where you could have drug diversion,” said DiPentima, who has worked in public health for more than 30 years.
One of the drug-testing concerns facing the committee is employee privacy, especially in cases where an employee has a medical condition that he or she may not want exposed, and may be taking a drug legally.
Attorney William Woodbury of Normandin, Cheney & O'Neil of Laconia said the question will become, “When does public interest outweigh personal interest?”
Other questions involve how and when co-workers should report suspicious behavior among hospital employees.
“Everyone is afraid of being sued,” said committee member Tim Poutre, an anesthesiologist at Catholic Medical Center in Manchester and Bedford Ambulatory Surgical Center.
The committee is expected to hold several more meetings before legislation is likely proposed in September.
Jason Schreiber may be reached at jschreiber@newstote.com.
The committee assembled by state Rep. Lee Quandt, R-Exeter, will work with him on a proposed bill requiring random drug testing for hospital employees, and possibly others who have access to drugs in the medical profession.
Quandt said the committee will likely consider other bills related to the outbreak, including requiring medical technicians to be licensed in the state.
“Anything we put on the book is one step above what we have,” Quandt told the committee during the two-hour meeting at the Rockingham County Nursing Home.
The committee includes Quandt and state Reps. Tim Copeland, R-Stratham, and Rich DiPentima, D-Portsmouth, former state Rep. Roger Rogers of Stratham, former state Sen. Robert Clegg Jr. of Hudson, and others in the medical, legal and insurance industries.
The committee was organized in response to the outbreak allegedly caused by former Exeter Hospital medical technician David Kwiatkowski, 33, who is facing federal charges. He is accused of illegally diverting drugs meant for patients by injecting himself and then leaving the dirty needles, which were used on patients.
Some 31 former Exeter patients have been infected with a strain of hepatitis C that matches the one Kwiatkowski was diagnosed with before he came to Exeter Hospital in April 2011.
While Exeter Hospital has said Kwiatkowski underwent drug testing when he was hired through a staffing agency, Quandt and other committee members said that's not enough. They would like to see random testing for hospital employees, and possibly those who have access to drugs in places such as pharmacies and nursing homes.
“There are a lot of places where you could have drug diversion,” said DiPentima, who has worked in public health for more than 30 years.
One of the drug-testing concerns facing the committee is employee privacy, especially in cases where an employee has a medical condition that he or she may not want exposed, and may be taking a drug legally.
Attorney William Woodbury of Normandin, Cheney & O'Neil of Laconia said the question will become, “When does public interest outweigh personal interest?”
Other questions involve how and when co-workers should report suspicious behavior among hospital employees.
“Everyone is afraid of being sued,” said committee member Tim Poutre, an anesthesiologist at Catholic Medical Center in Manchester and Bedford Ambulatory Surgical Center.
The committee is expected to hold several more meetings before legislation is likely proposed in September.
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Jason Schreiber may be reached at jschreiber@newstote.com.
