Health officials urge testing for Coastal Health & Wellness patients

Four-year-old Barbara Scott is happy about the coloring book, lollipop and stickers, but not happy about getting stuck with needles.

"Did the needles hurt?" We asked.

"A little bit." She answered shyly.

"A little bit? But you are tough?"

She nods her head yes.

Her dad didn't want to give his name and is not taking it so well. He is more than just angry.

"Beyond that. I'm just trying to keep my cool because I don't want to go off," he said.

You could hardly blame him. He brought Barbara to Coastal Health and Wellness last year to get shots and blood work for school. Now she is one of the many who are getting tested because of possible exposure to Hepatitis B and C as well as HIV. The culprit? An audit in February showed poor infection control practices. Anyone who had dental work or invasive medical procedures between March 1, 2015, and February 2018 can get free screening for those diseases. A nursing student didn't want her face shown, but she's on the same page as Barbara's dad.

"It's going to affect people terribly," she said. "They didn't do what the are supposed to do and it can effect everybody. I mean people's lives. It's terrible."

So now they have to wait for the results. Wait, worry and wonder if it was worth it.

"They say not everything that's free is always good," said Barbara's father.

They expect the results in five to seven days.

A board member for the clinics says as many as 9,500 people may have to be tested.  So far, nobody has tested positive for anything. They say the investigation into what went wrong continues.