Swedish Medical Center is asking about 2,900 patients to get tested for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C after discovering that a former employee may have stolen narcotic pain medicines.

Sgt. Brian Cousineau of the Englewood Police Department said police are investigating 28-year-old Rocky Allen.

The surgical technologist worked in operating rooms at the hospital from Aug. 17 to Jan. 22, officials said Wednesday, and could have put at risk patients who had surgery during that time.

The hospital announced it is investigating possible exposures with the state Department of Public Health and Environment and is reaching out to patients.

“At this point we have no evidence of any patient exposure,” the hospital said. “However, we are taking a position of extreme caution by offering free testing to all patients who had surgery at Swedish Medical Center in locations where this individual worked at any time during this individual’s employment, including those days the employee was not on the schedule or in the facility.”

The Swedish investigation began after an employee allegedly was found diverting drugs Jan. 22.

“This individual was removed from the patient care environment immediately following the alleged suspicious activity,” said Nicole Williams, hospital spokeswoman.

Cousineau said Allen has not been arrested.

“(Swedish officials) have been very cooperative with us,” Cousineau said. “They have aggressively pursued criminal charges in the case.”

According to the state Division of Professions and Occupations, Rocky Elbert Allen obtained a surgical technologist license in July. It was summarily suspended Jan. 29.

The suspension order noted that on Jan. 22, “in the beginning stages of a surgical procedure,” Allen “removed a labeled Fentanyl syringe” from the anesthesia work space “and replaced the Fentanyl syringe with another labeled syringe.”

Allen “submitted to a urinalysis which was positive for Fentanyl and marijuana,” the order said.

Fentanyl is a potent narcotic pain medicine used by anesthesiologists.

The hospital did not explain how patients could have been exposed.

Dr. Larry Wolk, executive director and chief medical officer of the state health agency, said potential reuse of needles is the main concern.

Because hospitals track the inventory of needles, one risk is that a drug thief “is taking needles, not just drugs, and replacing them with used needles,” he said.

Wolk also offered an explanation for the time gap between the hospital’s discovery and the widespread notification to surgical patients.

“We had to gather a lot of information,” he said, “working with the hospital and physicians as well as patients.”

Exposure to viruses with long-term health effects also is different, he said, from acute illnesses such as food poisonings that require immediate action.

Happily, “we have no known cases identified to date” among Swedish patients, he said.

Williams said she expects testing to occur over the next several weeks.

She urged people who were not surgery patients between Aug. 17 and Jan. 22 not to call the hospital’s designated patient care line.

“We are receiving an abundance of calls from people who are not in the patient population we are trying to reach, and this is tying up the phone lines,” she said. “Our first priority is to reach these affected patients. If you were not a surgical patient at Swedish between these dates, you are not at risk at this time.”

Department of Public Health and Environment spokesman Mark Salley said he could not comment about testing of the suspect for HIV or hepatitis viruses. Patients will be asked to have their blood tested for all three infections.

In 2009, Denver surgical tech Kristen Diane Parker infected at least 18 hospital patients with hepatitis C by stealing liquid painkillers and leaving behind her dirty syringes. Parker, who worked at Rose Medical Center and Audubon Surgery Center of Colorado Springs, was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Colorado adopted tighter regulations of surgical technicians and surgical assistants in the wake of the Parker case. But state legislators are now considering whether to sunset them.

The state Department of Regulatory Affairs reported recently that the regulations appeared to duplicate other state, federal and hospital requirements, and a House hearing is scheduled Feb. 23 to consider whether they are needed.

Diana Protopapa, a lobbyist for state associations of surgical technologists and surgical assistants, said her clients favor state regulation.

“I certainly think another episode like this speaks to the need for regulation,” she said, “and perhaps greater regulation than we have.”

David Olinger: 303-954-1498, dolinger@denverpost.com.

Staff writer Kieran Nicholson contributed to this report.

Drug-diversion prevention measures

Two measures were signed into law in Colorado following the case of Kristen Parker, a Denver surgical tech who diverted drugs and exposed 6,000 people to hepatitis C, infecting at least 18, in 2009.

One law required employers to report health care workers under suspicion to the state within two weeks and to make information about a case available to the public, including future employers.

The other law set up a statewide registry of surgical technologists and surgical assistants. Employers were required to verify those workers are in good state standing before allowing them to work. That law is under review. Critics say it duplicates other state, federal and hospital requirements.

What officials are doing in this case

Although there are no known cases of HIV, hepatitis B or hepatitis C stemming from the drug-diversion case at Swedish Medical Center, hospital and state health officials are urging about 2,900 patients who had surgeries from Aug. 17 to Jan. 22 to come in for free testing.

Hospital officials said an incident occurred Jan. 22 that led them to suspect the former employee, a surgical technologist, was diverting drugs. The employee had worked there for about five months. The state health department is concerned because there have been drug-diversion cases in which clean needles were replaced with used ones.