Kaiser employee concerned about surgical equipment at Zion Medical Center

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A Kaiser employee at Zion Medical Center has sent a letter to the hospital asking for all surgeries to stop because she says the surgical tools don't meet their sterilization standards.

Kaiser told ABC 10News they are doing everything to keep patients safe.

The allegation comes after Kaiser Zion acknowledged they had an issue with their hot water lines at the facility. ABC 10News has been reporting on the impact of the issue and Kaiser says the water lines were fixed two weeks ago.

The Kaiser employee says she and dozens of other employees signed the letter demanding surgeries stop until the issues are fixed.

RELATED: Water issue leads to postponement of surgeries at Zion Medical Center

Kaiser said it's only conducting necessary cases, with instruments that have been cleaned and processed at two outside facilities.

"I don't want to use these instruments on my patients we need to stop operating." Elizabeth Haynes is a surgical tech at Kaiser Zion Medical Center. For days, she says she and her co-workers have found issues with surgical equipment.

"It's visible black like, looks like pepper grains on some things, like grease smudges on other things."

She showed 10News pictures taken by her co-workers of the equipment in question. Their reports of contaminated equipment come weeks after Kaiser confirmed an issue with the hot water lines at the Zion facility. Kaiser said those issues have since been fixed. Haynes still has concerns.

RELATED: Surgery delays continue at Kaiser Zion Medical Center after water issue

She drafted a letter, asking for surgeries to stop until the issues are addressed. Haynes said roughly 75 of her co-workers co-signed.

"I submitted that letter on Friday, asking that the line be stopped, that we stop operating and we just kept operating."

In a lengthy statement, Kaiser said in part there is no issue with the hot water line at Zion Medical Center, saying the water line was cleaned, inspected, and restored to full operation on Sunday, May 21, finding no contamination.

They added that they are experiencing an issue with the washers used to clean surgical instruments at Zion. In the meantime, they said the instruments are being cleaned and processed at the San Diego Medical Center, and an outside agency, then transported back to Zion for use.

Kaiser added that they are providing regular updates during every shift and are confident that no patients or providers have been placed at risk and that care has remained safe and appropriate.

Read the full statement from Kaiser below:

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