If you were a patient at the Seattle area’s Northwest Hospital and Medical Center in early 20-12, medical officials urge you to get tested for some serious diseases.
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It’s unclear whether that person did the same thing in Seattle.
Washington’s Department of Health says Allen previously worked at Northwest Hospital in Seattle, Lakewood Surgery Center, and Naval Hospital Bremerton. “We understand this situation may be concerning to our patients”, spokesperson Kathy Peck said. He was arrested in Colorado last month.
“We recently learned that a surgical technologist employed briefly at Lakewood Surgery Center during late 2011 has been accused of diverting injectable narcotics in California, Arizona and Colorado, and has been charged with criminal activity relating to this alleged diversion in Colorado”, the center said in a statement on its website.
Rocky Allen has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he took a syringe of painkillers and replaced it with one containing another substance at a Colorado hospital.
The investigation is still open, but at this time, the investigation has not turned up any other health care facilities where Allen worked in Washington.
There’s no evidence of any patient exposure at the hospital and the risk of potential infection is “extremely low”, Northwest Hospital officials said.
Northwest Hospital has set up a hotline for people with additional concerns. State health officials will release those test results after its investigation, she said. He had been court-martialed for fentanyl theft in 2011 while enlisted with the Navy in Afghanistan.
Allen’s urine later tested positive for fentanyl, regulators said in an order suspending his license in January.
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According to KIRO 7, a Denver attorney says there are reports that at least two former patients at the Swedish Medical Center in Denver have tested positive for blood-borne pathogens. On March 8, a lawsuit naming three plaintiffs was filed against the Swedish Medical Center for negligence in hiring Allen. Allen faces up to 14 years in prison if he’s convicted.
