Former Surgical Technician Shares Truthful Details on Drug Crimes
Posted on January 28, 2010A drug addiction can lead a person to a number of outrageous things, included putting others in harm’s way. A report in the Denver Post recounts a plea arrangement a former surgical technician made with federal prosecutors for infecting at least 15 patients with hepatitis C.
Kristen Parker, a former surgical technician at Rose Hospital, gave patients needles she had used to feed her drug addiction to the painkiller fentanyl. Parker was arrested last summer and pleaded guilty in September to a variety of charges based on stealing fentanyl.
Parker admitted to stealing syringes from operating rooms. She would use these syringes to inject herself before refilling with a sterile saline solution and placing them back in the operating room. As a carrier of the hepatitis C infection as a result of heroin use, Parker was able to spread the disease to at least 15 surgical patients at Rose.
Facing 20 years in prison, Parker agreed to truthfully describe her crimes for the victims and the hospitals. This admission was part of her plea bargain and was captured in an hour-long digital recording. Parker was reportedly crying and remorseful as she recounted her life of drug addiction.
One highlight from the video included information not previously shared: Parker had lied to other employers so she could get jobs as a surgical technician with easy access to drugs. While working in New York, she learned how to steal syringes of fentanyl and replace them with syringes filled with sterile saline solution.
To try to gain better control of her life, Parker moved to be with her parents in Colorado. In an attempt to come clean, Parker found herself suffering through heroin withdrawal and began again looking for work as a surgical tech. She passed the urine test and was hired at Rose. A sticking incident later led to an investigation that began the unraveling of Parker’s exploits.
