A healthcare provider that manages a health clinic in Oregon has admitted that a dentist there used instruments that weren't properly sterilized on six patients in November, according to a news report on the KEZI-TV website.
Patients received a confidential letter from Aviva Health that stated six patients who visited Umpqua Community Health Center in Sutherlin during the week of November 11 were treated with improperly sterilized dental instruments. Aviva Health manages the health center.
Jason Prebe, one of the exposed patients, made the letter public because he says he has been sick with pneumonia since his cleaning and tooth extraction at the clinic. Prebe didn't receive the letter from Aviva Health until the first week of December.
Aviva Health determined that some of the tools used on Prebe and the others were not cleaned properly before their appointments, according to the letter. Also, representatives from the provider apologized and offered to pay for the exposed patients to get blood tests to ensure they did not contract any infections.
Prebe, who has been missing work due to his illness, will not be returning to the clinic, and those at the clinic were negligent, he said. He also believes they are the cause of his long illness.
Aviva Health issued a statement, saying it "deeply regrets" the incident and offered its "sincerest apologies" to all patients involved after Prebe publicized the matter. Also, the provider promises to take steps to prevent it from happening again in the future.
