PORTLAND, Ore. — About 2,400 of patients at both Providence and Legacy Health facilities in the Portland area are being notified of an "infection control breach" related to a third-party anesthesiologist, which may have exposed them to infectious diseases. In a statement, Legacy Health said it was sending letters to 221 patients who may have been impacted.
Legacy said that the exposure came from a single provider contracted through the Oregon Anesthesiology Group who was providing care at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center for a period of six months, beginning in December 2023. "Upon learning of this situation, we immediately suspended the provider and launched a comprehensive investigation in accordance with regulations and with our policies and procedures," the hospital group said. In a separate statement, Providence said that about 2,200 patients at Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center and two patients at Providence Portland Medical Center were being notified of a similar breach.
The hospital system confirmed that the exposure was also related to a single physician employed by the Oregon Anesthesiology Group. That physician, Providence said, no longer works for the anesthesiology group, and the hospital system no longer contracts with the group. In November 2023, Providence switched providers from the Oregon Anesthesiology Group to Sound Physicians, which at the time contributed to hundreds of delayed surgeries.
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