NJ: Patients possibly exposed to HIV, hepatitis at Saddle Brook surgery center

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Source: https://www.northjersey.com/story/ne...er/2408091002/

Patients possibly exposed to HIV, hepatitis at Saddle Brook surgery center
Joshua Jongsma, North Jersey Record Published 2:53 p.m. ET Dec. 24, 2018 | Updated 7:17 p.m. ET Dec. 24, 2018

Patients at a surgical center in Saddle Brook may have been exposed to hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV, the New Jersey Department of Health confirmed.

Anyone who stayed at HealthPlus Surgery Center on Midland Avenue from January to Sept. 7 for a procedure may have been exposed, the department stated. The center closed by the Department of Health from Sept. 7 to Sept. 28.

No illnesses were reported and the risk of infection is low, according to the state department. The department called it "an abundance of caution" to suggest people be tested.

In an email, the surgery center administrator, Betty McCabe, said there were "deficiencies in infection control in both our sterilization/cleaning of instruments and the injection of medications may have exposed patients to blood borne pathogens ..."

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Source: https://www.northjersey.com/story/ne...-b/2579718002/

Two former patients at Saddle Brook facility test positive for hepatitis B, lawyers say
Lindy Washburn, North Jersey Record Published 1:06 p.m. ET Jan. 15, 2019 | Updated 1:07 p.m. ET Jan. 15, 2019

Two former patients of the Saddle Brook ambulatory surgery center that the state temporarily shut down because of poor sterilization practices have tested positive for hepatitis B, a blood-borne disease that can cause serious liver damage, their lawyers said.

The patients, David Kinlock of Newark and an unidentified 37-year-old man from the Bronx, underwent blood tests after being notified by HealthPlus Surgery Center in December that ?lapses in infection control? between Jan. 1 and Sept. 7 last year may have exposed them to HIV, hepatitis B or hepatitis C.

A third patient, who was treated for hepatitis A after a procedure at the center, also is seeking to become part of a class-action lawsuit as lawyers try to broaden the list of diseases and the time period for which the center may be liable...