Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle - Saturday, August 17, 2002
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Elaine Georgi, 55, pleaded no contest in June to four felony charges of illegal treatment or disposal of medical waste and one misdemeanor count of falsifying medical records. On Thursday, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Hugh Mullin told Georgi she had endangered lives and could have faced a murder charge if anyone had died. But he rejected a prosecutor's request for a two-year prison sentence.
A co-worker at the SmithKline Beecham clinic reported more than three years ago that she saw Georgi reusing needles after washing them with water and a dilute solution of hydrogen peroxide.
Testifying later at a preliminary hearing, the co-worker, Ana Dvorsky, described Georgi as a woman obsessed with saving the company money by reusing the more expensive butterly syringes that she favored because they were easier to use and less painful for patients.
In the uproar that followed, state health officials offered free blood tests for hepatitis and AIDS to patients who had blood work done at 18 SmithKline Beecham labs where Georgi had worked since 1974. Out of the 4,890 people tested, eight had HIV and 72 tested positive for hepatitis, but the state said the rates were lower than the infection levels in the general population, and no infections could be linked to Georgi.
But Georgi's prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Dale Sanderson, said Friday that it is impossible to be sure, because people infected with hepatitis -- which often has no symptoms -- may have been unaware they had the virus before going to the clinic.
Georgi was fired by the company and permanently barred by court order from working in the medical field. The state also fined SmithKline $102,000.
The case led to passage of a new state law increasing the hours of education and training required for phlebotomists, the medical workers who specialize in drawing blood.
The charges to which Georgi admitted were punishable by up to five years in prison. Sanderson, the prosecutor, argued for a prison sentence and said Georgi would probably be sticking used needles into unsuspecting patients today if she had not been caught.
Georgi apparently "wanted to prove to her employer that she could run a more efficient shop" and save money, Sanderson said Friday.
Deputy Public Defender Brian Matthews argued for a sentence of community service and home detention but said Friday he was satisfied with Mullin's decision, which will let Georgi seek release from jail and electronic monitoring at home after six months.
According to a psychologist's report, Matthews said, Georgi made some bad decisions in reaction to "a lot of stress in her life" but was not trying to hurt anyone or advance her own career.
E-mail Bob Egelko at begelko@sfchronicle.com.
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