The Silence of the Unblown Whistle: The Nevada Hepatitis C Public Health Crisis

In 2008, one of the worst public health crises occurred in the state of Nevada,where authorities discovered up to 63,000 patients were potentially exposed tohepatitis C infection, largely due to substandard infection control and othernegligent practices at two endoscopy clinics in Las Vegas. In the subsequentgrand jury proceedings that followed, it was discovered that several clinicemployees not only participated in these egregious practices, but doctors,nurses, and other health care professionals witnessed yet failed to report theseincidents, largely due to fears of whistleblower retaliation. In response, theNevada state legislature attempted to strengthen whistleblower protection laws,but it remains unclear if such laws actually protect employees who attempt toreport patient safety concerns. As the push for quality patient outcomes becomesmore prominent with health care reform, whistleblower concerns must beeffectively addressed to ensure that health care professionals can reportpatient safety concerns without fear of retaliation.