In response to the Aug. 28 Fresno Bee story
Fourteen Clovis Community Medical Center patients have been notified that the instruments used during their medical procedures may not have completed the full sterilization cycle.
Dr. Thomas Utecht, Community Medical Centers’ senior vice president and chief quality officer, said the potential issue with instruments was identified quickly and corrected. He assured that there’s no need for additional patients to be tested.
“The headline in today’s Fresno Bee is unfortunate and has caused undue concern for many of our patients and physicians,” Dr. Utecht said. “In fact, there is no reason to believe that any of the 14 people have been exposed to HIV or any other form of infection. It’s important for the public to remember the following facts:
- “Clovis Community discovered that one batch of medical instruments may not have completed the full sterilization cycle. The instruments were certainly clean and sanitized. But the final step – intense heating of the instruments – may have been incomplete.
- “All of the 14 patients who may have come in contact with these instruments have been contacted. Although the risk to the patients is extremely low, the patients were offered routine lab checks as a precautionary measure. All lab tests so far have been negative.
- “The risk of infection is extremely remote and pertains only to the 14 patients contacted. All other procedures performed at Clovis Community are not in question. Clovis Community has an exceptional record of very low infection rates.”
Craig Castro, Clovis Community’s chief executive officer, assured that the hospital continues to provide quality patient care and pays close attention to patient safety and infection control.
“Patient care and safety is our utmost priority,” Castro said. “This one-time incident was quickly identified and addressed and since, we have taken every additional precautionary step to guarantee our patients' safety.”
This story was reported by MedWatch Today staff. The staff can be reached at MedWatchToday@communitymedical.org.