EL PASO, Texas (AP) – An official at a Texas hospital where a nurse assistant potentially exposed more than 750 infants to tuberculosis said Tuesday that her symptoms were discovered in July but that more than a month passed before she was tested for the infectious lung disease.
The administration of the Providence Memorial Hospital in El Paso “should have done more” when the employee’s symptoms were revealed during her annual screening, Sierra Providence Health Network CEO Eric Evans said at a news conference. Sierra Providence is the parent company of a network of hospitals that includes Providence Memorial.
The hospital submitted a corrective action plan to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Tuesday and expects its approval, Evans said.
The employee tested positive for active tuberculosis on August 27 and was placed on leave. Health officials believe as many as 751 children may have been exposed to the infected worker between September 2013 – three months before the worker exhibited the first symptoms of the disease – and August this year. Of those, 502 are scheduled for testing in the next three weeks and all babies under six months old are being given preventative medicine, said Director of Public Health in El Paso Robert Resendes.
Fifty-three employees who came into contact with the nurse assistant have been tested but none have active TB, said Enrique Martinez, chief medical officer at Providence Memorial. Two more are pending tests as they were away from work.