--- title: New Jersey: 3,000 Patients Possibly Exposed to HIV and Hepatitis description: A New Jersey surgical center may have exposed more than 3,000 patients to HIV and hepatitis, state officials said. canonical: https://time.com/5488434/new-jersey-surgical-center-hiv-hepatitis/ author: Mahita Gajanan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-12-26T15:00:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T22:21:32.604Z article:section: Health og:title: More than 3,000 Patients Possibly Exposed to HIV and Hepatitis At New Jersey Surgical Center og:description: A New Jersey surgical center may have exposed more than 3,000 patients to HIV and hepatitis, state officials said og:url: https://time.com/5488434/new-jersey-surgical-center-hiv-hepatitis/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6c2dc63db3d93860/6988af5e2dce01e3699eb82b/blood-photo.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: A blood sample being held with a row of human samples for analytical testing including blood, urine, chemistry, proteins, anticoagulants and HIV in lab og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: More than 3,000 Patients Possibly Exposed to HIV and Hepatitis At New Jersey Surgical Center twitter:description: A New Jersey surgical center may have exposed more than 3,000 patients to HIV and hepatitis, state officials said twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6c2dc63db3d93860/6988af5e2dce01e3699eb82b/blood-photo.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # More than 3,000 Patients Possibly Exposed to HIV and Hepatitis At New Jersey Surgical Center, Officials Say by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Dec 26, 2018 3:00 PM UTC  A blood sample being held with a row of human samples for analytical testing including blood, urine, chemistry, proteins, anticoagulants and HIV in lab A blood sample being held with a row of human samples for analytical testing including blood, urine, chemistry, proteins, anticoagulants and HIV in labGetty Images by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Dec 26, 2018 3:00 PM UTC A New Jersey surgical center may have exposed more than 3,000 patients to [HIV](http://time.com/5455488/future-of-hiv-treatment-pills/) and hepatitis, state officials said. People who received a procedure at the HealthPlus Surgery Center in Saddle Brook, New Jersey between Jan. 1 and Sept. 7 have been requested to take a [blood test](http://time.com/5304711/blood-test-predict-premature-birth/) for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C after “deficiencies in infection control” in the medical center’s cleaning and medication injection processes put them at risk. No infections or illnesses have been reported so far, HealthPlus Surgery Center administrator Betty McCabe said in a statement. Even so, health officials recommend patients get tested as soon as they can. So far, 3,778 patients have been asked to take a test. According to the statement, the New Jersey Department of Health closed down the surgical center in September after finding that employees were not adhering to proper sterile processing procedures or regulations around dispensing and storing medication. The center reopened on Sept. 28. “We have taken this issue very seriously,” McCabe said. “The New Jersey Department of Health’s move to close the facility provided an opportunity to focus more intently on quality, safety and a consistent adherence to sound policies and procedures.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5488434/new-jersey-surgical-center-hiv-hepatitis/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5488434/new-jersey-surgical-center-hiv-hepatitis/"},"headline":"More than 3,000 Patients Possibly Exposed to HIV and Hepatitis At New Jersey Surgical Center, Officials Say","datePublished":"2018-12-26T15:00:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T22:21:32.604Z","description":"A New Jersey surgical center may have exposed more than 3,000 patients to HIV and hepatitis, state officials said.","url":"https://time.com/5488434/new-jersey-surgical-center-hiv-hepatitis/","keywords":["Public Health","New Jersey","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6c2dc63db3d93860/6988af5e2dce01e3699eb82b/blood-photo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6c2dc63db3d93860/6988af5e2dce01e3699eb82b/blood-photo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A blood sample being held with a row of human samples for analytical testing including blood, urine, chemistry, proteins, anticoagulants and HIV in lab","caption":"A blood sample being held with a row of human samples for analytical testing including blood, urine, chemistry, proteins, anticoagulants and HIV in lab","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/public-health/","name":"Public Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5488434/new-jersey-surgical-center-hiv-hepatitis/","name":"More than 3,000 Patients Possibly Exposed to HIV and Hepatitis At New Jersey Surgical Center, Officials Say"}}]}] ```