More than 2,400 patients who were treated at several Providence and Legacy Health hospitals may be at a low risk of exposure to possible infections, including HIV and hepatitis B and C, after an anesthesiologist failed to follow proper infection-control practices, Providence said Friday.
The physician is no longer employed by Oregon Anesthesiology Group, which provided contracted services to Renton, Washington-based Providence and Portland, Oregon-based Legacy. The anesthesiologist worked at two Providence facilities from 2017 until 2023. Providence stopped using the group's services in November 2023, the system said.
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"When we learned that the physician had violated infection-control practices, we suspended him, informed our partners Legacy Health and Providence, and then began an investigation that resulted in the physician’s termination," Oregon Anesthesiology said in a statement Friday. "Even though the risk of infection was low, new protocols and procedures have been put in place to prevent similar incidents in the future."
Providence said it is sending notifications by mail or MyChart to more than 2,200 patients, advising them to undergo a blood screening at no cost to test for possible infection. An estimated 2,200 patients were potentially exposed at Oregon City, Oregon-based Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center and two patients at Providence Portland Medical Center.
Legacy said it is in the process of sending letters to 221 patients who were potentially exposed at its Mount Hood Medical Center in Gresham, Oregon, during a six-month period beginning in December 2023.
Providence, Legacy Health and Oregon Anesthesiology Group declined to answer how the physician failed to follow protocol resulting in the potential exposure.
