In 2008, an anonymous fire department official alerted the state health department about an alarming increase in patient transfers from the dialysis center. State department surveyors investigated the clinic and interviewed patients, two of whom reported seeing nurse Kimberly Saenz inject bleach into dialysis tubing used by other patients.
The clinic was subsequently shut down for two months for patient safety reasons, and Ms. Saenz was fired. Another investigation by experts at the Food and Drug Administration found patient samples either tested positive for bleach or may have had traces of bleach at one time. The attorney representing Ms. Saenz said his client is being made a scapegoat for the dialysis center’s own shortcomings, according to the report.
DaVita, which operates the dialysis clinic, is cooperating with ongoing litigation against Ms. Saenz, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of capital murder and aggravated assault.
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