Drug-Stealing Surgical Tech Indicted for Spreading Hepatitis C to Patients

A former surgical technician who worked at hospitals in Colorado, New York, and Texas has been indicted on federal charges of exposing potentially thousands of people to hepatitis C by injecting herself with a potent painkiller and reusing the dirty needles on patients.

Kristen Diane Parker, 26, was arrested last month after Colorado health officials accused her of knowingly using tainted needles on surgical patients at two hospitals where she worked. Parker previously worked at facilities in New York and Texas, raising the tally of patients who may have been exposed to hepatitis C by her, officials said. She is accused of knowing that she was hepatitis C-positive while working at the hospitals.

So far, health officials say they have confirmed 19 cases of hepatitis C that can be traced back to Parker’s tenure at one Denver-area hospital.

Parker was indicted today on 21 counts of tampering with a consumer product and 21 counts of obtaining a controlled substance by deceit. She remains jailed in Colorado without bond and faces between 10 and 20 years in prison for each count if convicted.

Parker worked as a surgery “scrub” technician at Rose Medical Center in Denver and later at Audubon Surgery Center in Colorado Springs from October 2008 until April 15, 2009. Officials have previously said she worked at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, N.Y. from Oct. 8, 2007 to Feb. 28, 2008 and at Christus St. John Hospital near Houston from May 2005 to October 2006.

As many as 6,000 patients who underwent surgeries at the Colorado hospitals while Parker was working there have been notified and offered free blood tests to determine whether they were infected.

Parker allegedly stole Fentanyl, a narcotic used to treat severe pain in surgical patients, and injected herself with the drug through syringes before filling them with saline solution and returning them to a surgical tray for use on patients.

All the charges against Parker stem from her time at Denver’s Rose hospital, but authorities said they may amend the complaint at a later date if more cases from Rose or other hospitals where she worked are identified.

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