A Fort Lauderdale nurse resigned after she was caught reusing IV tubing and saline bags while giving cardiac stress tests to patients over the past five years.
It's possible that Qui Lan, 59, exposed the 1,851 patients she saw to communicable diseases such as HIV and hepatitis by not following standard hospital procedure and using the one-time use items as intended, according to an article by The Associated Press.
We cannot think of a reason why Lan, who worked as a nurse for 37 years before her resignation, would fail to consider the safety of her patients when using an item labeled as "sterile" more than once.
Plus, the items she reused are inexpensive and very easy to come by in any medical facility, especially a hospital. Saline is nothing more than a mixture of salt and water in a plastic bag, and a 50-pack of 60-inch IV tubing costs less than $70 online. And a hospital like Broward General likely buys in bulk.
When getting care at a hospital, there's an assumption of safety and a level of trust that patients expect. Lan violated this trust.
Hospital officials reacted appropriately by contacting by certified mail the 1,851 patients who came under Lan's "care" since 2004.
Hopefully, none of the patients find that they contracted a disease because of Lan's carelessness. If someone did, police should prosecute her to the fullest extent of the law.
