Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2009. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - October 8, 2009
Officials at Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale said this week that the hospital discovered that the nurse, Qui Lan, 59, was reusing IV tubing and saline bags during cardiac chemical stress tests.
The officials sent letters to the 1,851 patients Ms. Lan handled from January 2004 to early September, recommending that they be tested at the hospital's expense for hepatitis and for H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS.
Hospital officials said Ms. Lan was suspended Sept. 8 and resigned the next day.
Alice Taylor, the hospital's chief operating officer, said the hospital received an anonymous tip on Sept. 1 that the nurse had been seen reusing the saline bags and tubing that are meant for one-time sterile use.
A police spokesman in Fort Lauderdale said Wednesday that investigators were looking at potential charges, including criminal negligence, but would probably first need to determine whether anyone had been infected.
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