Long Island care centers probed in contamination 'emergency'

The New York State Department of Health is probing two Rockville Centre long-term care facilities after they may have received tainted shipments of flush syringes, according to officials.

They are among 54 such facilities across the state that the Health Department is examining to ensure patient safety. There are six Long Island facilities on the state’s list, including one in Freeport and one in Franklin Square.

Some 44 people have been stricken with bacterial infections across the state because of the tainted syringes, officials said. “As soon as we learned about the potential contamination, we immediately notified the 54 impacted long-term care facilities,” State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said in a statement. “We are working closely with our federal partners and with other affected states to investigate and address this emergency.”

One of the two Rockville Centre facilities –– Rockville Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation Center –– declined to comment on whether any patients have become ill or on the state’s ongoing investgation.

A representative at the other, the Grand Pavilion, said the facility was notified by the Health Department that it might have received tainted syringes, but added that no patients had reported illnesses related to them to date.

“We have been notified by the New York State Department of Health that a medication or solution that we have received through an external pharmacy may have been contaminated,” the facility said in an email. “We are pleased to share that The Grand Pavilion for Rehabilitation & Nursing at Rockville Centre has no cases of infection.”

Flushes are used to clear patients’ intravenous lines of medicines to keep them sterile.

The infections were caused by Burkholderia cepacia, a common bacteria, according to the Health Department. The bacteria can be potentially life-threatening to people with weakened immune systems or chronic lung diseases, though it’s not normally dangerous.

Meadowbrook Care Center in Freeport was another of the facilities that received tainted syringes, according to the state. But Mindy Grant, a Meadowbrook administrator, said there was no evidence of contamination. “The product was delivered to us and had been used, but there are no documented cases of sick patients,” she said.

Grant added that Meadowbrook purchases its products from a pharmacy, which she declined to name. She said the product in question was immediately pulled off the facilities’ shelves.

“We followed guidelines, and we are fine,” Grant said.

A representative of Garden Care Center in Franklin Square, who declined to be identified, said only that “everything was handled through the Health Department.”

The products that were recalled were all IV flush syringes in 3-, 5- and 10-milliliter samples. The syringes were sent to customers and distributors between Feb. 16 and Sept. 30.

According to the Health Department, it cannot release the names of the distributors. The department said only that one distributor provided pharmacy services to nursing home facilities in the New York City area, and the other manufactured medical products, including saline flushes.