The findings of an investigation "strongly indicate" that a former nurse at MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup was the source of a Hepatitis C outbreak.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, Cora Weberg, who admitted to using "drugs meant for patients," has been identified as the likely source of the outbreak in 2017.
Twelve people were infected after receiving injections from Weberg. Weberg was identified as the one common provider of those patients.
The CDC notes Weberg accessed an automated drug dispensing system more often than other staff and admitted to using injectable drugs meant for patients.
Weberg’s RNA blood test – which detects the Hepatitis C virus in blood – came back negative. But health officials say the test will come back clean if your body has fought and cleared the virus. The antibody test will show up positive for the rest of your life, and Weberg’s antibody test was positive. But those antibodies cannot be genetically matched to actual Hepatitis C.
The former nurse denied infecting the patients with Hepatitis C and that she even carries the infection. Her lawyers argued more than 5 percent of the population have the antibody, but it doesn’t mean they have Hepatitis C.
“I know they are going to continue to point a finger at Cora. Cora knows that, but there's no finger to point," said Bryan Hershman, Weberg’s attorney. “This is ridiculous. This is as much of a smoke and mirrors investigation as I have ever seen. It’s terrible, and she’s a good woman and it’s destroyed her.”
The Washington State Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission suspended Weberg's license.
Attorney Ian Birk with Keller Rohrback Law Offices in Seattle has asked to the court to certify a class so they can represent everyone who received notices about potentially being exposed to Hepatitis C.
"I mean you go to the emergency room, and it supposed to be a place where you are going to get taken care of and be safe, and then to find out that you are getting exposed to a dangerous infection, that is really frightening," Birk said.
The CDC report says, “health care facilities and public health partners should recognize the potential for infections and other harms from drug diversion and minimize risks by storing controlled substances securely and routinely scrutinizing drug access logs.”
Marce Edwards, a spokesperson for MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital issued the following statement:
"Medication at MultiCare facilities is secured and closely monitored to ensure appropriate use. Last year, we examined our processes to see where we can improve to prevent this from happening again at any MultiCare facility. Through that, we identified ways to strengthen our reporting systems to add to our already detailed information about medication use in our facilities. These new reports will help us more readily identify if employees deviate from standard practices for medication use. We are closely monitoring these reports."