Media Library

Nevada Clinic's Unsafe Practices Lead to 6 Confirmed Hepatitis C Cases

Tuesday, March 18, 2008 by: Jo Hartley

(NaturalNews) An outbreak of six cases of hepatitis C was announced last week. The Endoscopy Center of Nevada is being investigated for the spread of hepatitis C from unsafe practices. The surgical center, as well as five other affiliated clinics, is currently closed. The health center is believed to have spread the viruses by reusing syringes and vials of medication – both well-known violations of common safety standards.

FBI Investigating Clinic in Las Vegas

2:42 PM Mar 7, 2008 Reporter: Kathleen Hennessey AP

LAS VEGAS (AP) - The FBI is investigating possible Medicare fraud at a Las Vegas surgical center believed to have spread hepatitis C by reusing syringes and vials of medication.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Indian Doctor in biggest Malpractice scandal

By Masood Haider

NEW YORK, March 9: As many as 40,000 people may have been infected with the deadly hepatitis C virus or HIV from a Las Vegas clinic, owned by Dr Dipak Desai, an Indian American, in what is emerging as one of the biggest malpractice scandals in the US history.

Indian American doctor under scanner for malpractices

March 8th, 2008 - 10:10 pm ICT by admin

New York, March 8 (IANS) A prominent Indian American doctor in Las Vegas is being investigated for medical malpractices, which have led to a huge health scare in the community. Health authorities have shut down Dipak Desai’s Endoscopy Centre of Southern Nevada and affiliated clinics after reuse of syringes and vials of anaesthesia there was believed to have put some 40,000 residents at risk of contracting hepatitis C.

Closed Nevada Centers Reopen for Patients

March 10, 2008

Las Vegas (dbTechno) - Five of the medical centers that were closed last week in Nevada are now open once again for patients. The medical clinics were deemed unsafe last week due to a lack of inspections, as well as the reuse of syringes and vials of medicine, putting patients at risk of hepatitis C and HIV. The Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada will remain closed.

Lawmaker in Iraq "appalled" by Vegas Clinic's practices

ASSOCIATED PRESS

3:18 p.m. March 8, 2008

LAS VEGAS – A Nevada lawmaker and doctor serving in Iraq says the unsafe medical practices found in a Las Vegas clinic would not even happen in the war zone. In a letter sent to Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons, state Sen. Joe Heck says he was appalled to learn that an outpatient center spread hepatitis C by reusing syringes and vials of medication.

He says such “blatant disregard of patient safety” would not occur in the Third World conditions he's currently in. Heck urged the governor to convene a group of experts to investigate the breakdown in safety standards.

Health inspectors have found safety violations at three northern Nevada clinics and at least two in Las Vegas. Health officials say at least six former patients at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada contracted the potentially deadly virus at the center.

Heck is an emergency room doctor and member of the U.S. Army Reserves.

Nevada Governor: More inspections not answer in Hepatitis case

By BRENDAN RILEY Associated Press Writer Article Launched: 03/10/2008 04:32:37 PM PDT

CARSON CITY, Nev.—Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons, who fought a plan for additional medical surveyors in 2007, said Monday that more inspections by more state staffers may not have stopped clinic practices that led to a recent hepatitis outbreak in Las Vegas. Gibbons also said the state is working closely with federal and local authorities to prevent future problems and determine exactly what happened at a Las Vegas endoscopy center where six patients were infected with hepatitis C.

Search Warrants being served at 6 Clinics

Mar. 10, 2008

Search warrants being served at 6 clinics Law enforcement officials today are serving search warrants to retrieve patient records at six Gastroenterology Center of Nevada clinics in the Las Vegas Valley as part of a criminal investigation.

Health Scandals: Doctors feeling pressure

Mar. 09, 2008

In a letter to Gov. Jim Gibbons, state Sen. Joe Heck, R-Henderson, on Saturday encouraged Gibbons to convene a panel of experts to investigate the recent health care crisis stemming from unsanitary practices at surgical centers.

Syringe Reuse: Another LV clinic implicated

Mar. 08, 2008 By ANNETTE WELLS REVIEW-JOURNAL

The Gastrointestinal Diagnostic Clinic in Las Vegas is closed Friday afternoon. Health officials said they found staff at the ambulatory surgery center routinely reusing syringes. Photo by John Gurzinski.