Sept. 03--Mayo Clinic's world-renowned reputation is serving as both an asset and obstacle in efforts to determine the reach of a hepatitis increase tied to a former employee at its Jacksonville location.
Mayo administrators invoked the medical provider's lofty reputation often during news conferences, particularly when they sought to distance the organization from the worker's actions.
But that eminence is complicating somewhat the next step in the aftermath: finding the 3,209 patients identified as needing blood tests to discover whether they were infected.
Unlike community hospitals, Mayo often sees patients from across the world, said Bill Rupp, CEO of Mayo Clinic's Jacksonville campus. As a result, the scope of Mayo's search has been worldwide.
The organization will begin sending letters today to the more than 3,000 patients it believes came into contact with Steven Larry Beumel during his tenure.
Beumel, a radiology technologist, worked at Mayo from Oct. 11, 2004, through Aug. 21. He worked at St. Luke's Hospital until April 2008, when Mayo sold the facility to St. Vincent's HealthCare.
Beumel, 47, was fired after admitting to injecting himself with a potent painkiller intended for patients and refilling the syringes with saline. He was arrested last week on a minor felony related to stealing drugs and was released Thursday on $50,000 bond. But he could face more penalties as the criminal investigation continues.
Three patients have been diagnosed with cases of hepatitis C that are genetically similar to the type Beumel has, Mayo officials said. One of those patients died from the virus, another died from an unrelated illness and the third remains alive.
More may be out there, Mayo officials acknowledge.
Mayo discovered the three cases, which popped up one a year from 2007-09, because of one thing they all had in common: All the patients were getting organ transplants.
The hospital routinely screens transplant patients for hepatitis C because it's a common reason people need new livers, Rupp said. They are tested again before they leave out of concern that medical equipment may transmit the virus from one patient to another during their stay.
Other patients aren't tested for hepatitis C, said Bob Brigham, the Mayo location's chief administrative officer.
"People don't test unless you have a reason to test," he said.
Working with state and federal health regulators, Mayo traced the three infections to the unit where Beumel worked. After testing the 22 workers in the unit, investigators found that Beumel had hepatitis.
He didn't know he had it, they say. The disease often doesn't display symptoms for years but may develop into a chronic form that can cause liver damage, cirrhosis and liver cancer.
The 3,209 patients were singled out, Rupp said, because they had received pain drugs and treatment at the interventional radiology unit where Beumel was working.
Patients who might have been infected can get tested at Mayo, have someone sent to take their blood at home or get tested at Quest Diagnostics, Rupp said. If they don't respond to the letter within a few days, a Mayo representative will follow up with a phone call.
Under protocol recommended by government health officials, Mayo also will be testing for hepatitis B and AIDS, even though Beumel tested negative for both this week.
As for patients who test positive for hepatitis C that match Beumel's, Mayo will "do what's right with the patient," although it has no specific plans for handling such outcomes yet, Rupp said.
Facing media questions for the first time since announcing the cases last week, Rupp was asked why Mayo didn't alert the public sooner. The organization discovered the first case of hepatitis in January 2007.
"We identified one case, and we were trying to figure out how that happened," he said. "It's not an epidemic. It's one case."
Mayo officials announced they have a phone hotline for people with questions about the hepatitis C cases: (877) 956-1768.
jeremy.com@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4083
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