Nov 17, 2007 2:27 pm US/Eastern
23 NYPD Cops Patients Of Doctor Who Reused Needles
Long Island Practitioner Under Fire After Two Patients Contract Hepatitis
PLAINVIEW, N.Y. (CBS) ―
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Nearly two dozen NYPD officers must be tested for Hepatitis and HIV.
CBS
State health officials are facing tough questions after it took nearly three years to alert the public about the potentially dangerous practices of a Long Island doctor. Now nearly two dozen NYPD officers who are patients of the doctor found out they must be tested for hepatitis and HIV.
The doctor in question, Harvey Finklestein, is an anesthesiologist with an office on Old Country Road in Plainview, and the state health department and the Nassau Co. health department say his actions have already caused two of his patients to contract hepatitis C -- a permanent, life-threatening disease -- by reusing syringes.
Ray Bookstaver and his wife Lori have many questions for health officials about why they weren't notified sooner about Finklestein. Three years ago, Mr. Bookstaver went to see the Plainview doctor because of back pain.
Five months later, he found out he had hepatitis C.
The state health department says Finklestein sometimes uses syringes multiple times on the same patient, possibly contaminating vials of medications when the syringes were reinserted into the vials.
Health officials say the practice caused as least two patients to be infected with hepatitis, a potentially fatal liver disease.
"It's about the almighty dollar for him. If he could save a couple bucks every day, who knows how many of these he does?" said Bookstaver. "He ruined my life."
Incredibly, the state health department didn't suspend or revoke Finkelstein's license because they say what he did is "correctable" and that because he "did not willfully infect his patients, they cannot suspend his license." He is still seeing patients even though the state has sent out letters to more than 600 of his patients saying they should be checked for hepatitis B, C and HIV.
On Friday, CBS 2 learned that 23 new patients -- all NYPD officers -- were notified they could have hepatitis or HIV.
In a statement from its Chief Surgeon Dr. Eli Kleinman, the NYPD said today: "The NYPD Medical Division continues to follow this investigation closely, and is contacting members of the service who may have been exposed to this practitioner." Now local officials are criticizing state authorities for not notifying patients sooner after becoming aware of the problem.
So are patients like Louise Tenebra. "I'm absolutely shocked. The minute they knew it was him, he should have been gone," she said.
State Health Commissioner Dr. Richard Daines has said his agency worked "as quickly as possible" in the case.
"I very much understand the public's concern. We have to look at what the rules and regulations are, perhaps those need to change or perhaps we can do more within those to get this done quicker," said Daines.
But State Senator Kemp Hannon (R, C, I- Nassau) isn't so sure. "That's nonsense! Because what overarches all of that in this situation is the concern for the patient," he said.
The Senate Health Committee hearing on the issue is now set for Dec. 6 at Farmingdale State College.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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