Four people who underwent surgery at Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center in Oregon City filed a lawsuit after the hospital system warned the patients earlier this month that they may have been exposed to blood-borne diseases by an anesthesiologist who might not have followed “comprehensive infection control practices.”
The surgeries took place between March 25, 2022 and Feb. 6, 2024, according to the lawsuit. The patients, identified in court documents by their initials, all received intravenous anesthesia from a doctor who was employed by the Oregon Anesthesiology Group.
Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center in Oregon City, Ore., Aug. 2, 2023.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
On July 11, Providence, Legacy Health and the Oregon Health Authority issued statements saying some 2,400 patients may have been exposed to HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. The hospital systems are offering testing.
The Oregon Anesthesiology Group, Providence and state officials did not respond to OPB’s questions for details on what caused the potential exposure.
The 29-page lawsuit filed in federal court offers few details. Attorneys for the patients declined OPB’s interview request.
“Because of the limitations of hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV testing, a recent infection may not be detectable for months, so Plaintiffs and Class Members cannot yet know whether they are out of the zone of danger into which Defendants’ conduct placed them,” the lawsuit states.
The state and hospital systems made the public announcement on July 11. The four patients who filed the lawsuit say they received notifications days later, between July 15 and July 17. The hospital systems also told OPB that they’ve notified every potentially-impacted patient.
The physician no longer works at the Oregon Anesthesiology Group, according to a statement from the Group.