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Judge Rules Parker Is Dangerous To The Community

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Jul 9, 2009 7:25 pm US/Mountain

Judge Rules Parker Is Dangerous To The Community

Bail Denied For Scrub Tech Kristen Diane Parker In Hepatitis C Scare

DENVER (AP/CBS4) ― A surgery technician accused of swapping out her dirty syringes for ones filled with a painkiller meant for patients has been denied bail after a judge ruled she's a danger to the community.

Kristen Diane Parker, 26, faces charges of tampering with a consumer product, creating a counterfeit controlled substance, and obtaining a controlled substance by deception or subterfuge. She was in federal court Thursday.

Parker has tested positive for hepatitis C. She worked at Rose Medical Center in Denver from Oct. 21 to April 13 and at Colorado Springs Audubon Ambulatory Surgery Center from May 4 until last week.

Up to 6,000 people may have been exposed to the blood-borne liver disease. Ten hepatitis C cases have been linked to Rose hospital.

Rose says it has specific safety measures in place in relation to incidents like this.

The hospital's medication security starts with limited access to the operating room. All medication is locked in cabinets that require a special ID and password to open. Once the medication is drawn it is also locked in a cabinet with limited access. And all waste is monitored and documented by two witnesses.

"This was an isolated occurrence," Rose chief nursing officer Lynne Wagner said. "We believe limited to one individual who is not at Rose and has not been here since April."

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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