MOUNT KISCO – Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco Wednesday began notifying some 2,800 patients by letter of possible exposure of hepatitis C after learning that a former surgical technician, Kristen Diane Parker, was suspected of transmitting the virus to patients in Colorado where she worked after leaving Westchester.

The state Health Department is working closely with the hospital to ensure that any patients who underwent surgery at the hospital while Parker worked there are contacted and offered free testing.

Parker worked as a surgical tech at Northern Westchester from October 2007 through February 2008. Later, she began working in Colorado, where she is alleged to have self-injected narcotic pain medication using syringes that she later filled and replaced, possibly exposing patients to infection.

Ten Colorado patients have been identified who may have contracted Hep C at that time.

The state Health Department is recommending that only those patients who had surgery at NWH between October 8, 2007 and February 28, 2008 be tested for hepatitis C. the testing is being coordinated by the hospital and a patient help line at 1-914-666-1902 is available for questions.

Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus and is spread by contact with the blood of an infected person. It is estimated that 1.6 percent of the US population has been infected with hepatitis C.