Patients, workers warned after Auburn Medical Center employee tests positive for TB
MultiCare is warning certain patients and staff about tuberculosis exposure in an area of one of its hospitals after an employee tested positive for the disease.
MultiCare’s Auburn Medical Center is alerting about 53 patients at the site’s Family Birth Center and employees who worked there during the time frame of April 22 to Sept. 30 of the TB exposure.
The notification comes after a hospital employee’s recent test results for the disease came back positive.
MultiCare says that only those receiving notification letters need testing. Notifications started Tuesday, according to the health system.
“This is an isolated situation and the hospital is taking appropriate and responsible actions on behalf of patients,” MultiCare said in a statement issued Wednesday.
The statement said, “This week, 27 adult patients will receive letters sharing the situation and recommending they get tested. We also are informing the families of 26 infants that their baby also was exposed and recommending testing.”
The statement added: ““The likelihood of transmission to patients and employees is low. TB is not easily spread and requires prolonged exposure.”
The health system says it is offering free TB testing to all 53 patients “and will help with next steps, which may include follow-up testing and treatment. Any visitors who spent more than eight hours with these patients in the Birth Center are also welcome to be tested.”
More than 100 staff members who worked in the Family Birth Center when the affected employee was on duty also will be notified and recommended for testing.
Additionally, according to the health system, there were “individuals identified who had brief exposure to this employee in the five-month window. Because their exposure was very limited, they are not believed to be at risk, and testing is not recommended.”
The outreach extends to the at-risk families’ pediatricians with “recommending that their parents speak to their child’s doctor to discuss best next steps for monitoring for symptoms.”
Tuberculosis typically affects the lungs and is caused by an airborne bacterium and is treated through medication. Not everyone infected with TB becomes sick. The health system notes that it is not transmitted by touching tables or other objects also touched by the infected person.
“For MultiCare, there is no higher priority that the safety of our patients and employees,” said Dr. Arun Mathews, chief medical officer at MultiCare Auburn Medical Center. “This situation is troubling to us but we are committed to ensuring TB testing and care for those who need it.”
In response to questions about when the TB exposure was first discovered, Marce Edwards, executive director of corporate communications for MultiCare, told The News Tribune on Wednesday that “Public Health notified us of the tuberculosis diagnosis at the end of October. And then we immediately began work to figure out who was exposed. That meant reviewing patient charts and employee schedules to determine that 53 patients and 107 staff were in the group that needed to be notified and tested.”
The employee is currently on leave for treatment after the recent diagnosis and is expected to make a full recovery.
This story was originally published November 13, 2019 at 11:21 AM.
