More than 2,300 patients at the Advanced Pain Treatment Medical Center in San Pedro, have been notified by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health that they may have been affected by hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV while receiving medical treatment. The cause? according to published reports, at least one health care worker used contaminated needles or syringes to sedate patients.

It appears possible that as many as three people have contracted hepatitis from the clinic. And there is evidence that at least one patient, a 76-year-old Torrance woman, died last may from complications caused from contracting hepatitis C.

In the notification letter, Dr. Laurene Mascola, chief of the Acute Communicable Disease Control Program, urges patients who visited the clinic between Jan. 16, 2006, and Aug. 18, 2010, to be tested for blood-borne pathogens. Dr. Mascola’s letter to patients covers all the necessary ground. she states that “the risk that you got infected at the time of your procedure is low,” “there are treatments available” for those who test positive, and that “LACDPH will educate the medical community to prevent this from happening again.”

I welcome the county department of public health to join our many partners in education prevention. This role – grassroots education, awareness and advocacy to prevent outbreaks – is one with which I am familiar. I was one of 99 people in Fremont, Neb., who was infected with hepatitis C while receiving treatment for cancer in 2002.

I was very ill. I did not notice the unsafe conditions in this clinic. it was later discovered that saline bags were being improperly used, and syringes were being used on multiple patients.

Our community has been deeply affected by this outbreak. not including staggering costs to the individuals who were affected, including five people who died prematurely, the Nebraska Excess Liability Fund paid over $16million to the victims.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been over 45 outbreaks in health care facilities in the United States over the last 12 years. Well over 150,000 Americans have received notification letters similar to the one mailed from Los Angeles County at the beginning of the year.

Not only is the person who receives the letter, in many cases an ill patient contending with challenging symptoms, affected immediately by confusion, anxiety and fear, these reported medical errors affect family members and friends. Sadly, incidents like this one in San Pedro create and sustain a basic lack of trust in the medical system itself.

We formed HONOReform Foundation in 2007, less than a year before the announcement of what is now considered the largest outbreak in the United States. over 60,000 Nevadans were notified they might be affected; up to 115 of them are possibly infected with blood-borne pathogens.

We work on a variety of projects aimed to educate providers and the public to safeguard the medical injection process. along with the Centers for Disease Control and the CDC Foundation, HONOReform convened the Safe Injection Practices Coalition in 2009. Together, we developed the One and only Campaign (oneandonlycampaign.org), which is currently being accessed by patients and providers in Nevada, new York and new Jersey. Our motto is “One Needle, One Syringe, only One Time.”

Unfortunately, this refrain comes too late for the many area patients who received notification letters this month – and for the provider or providers who violated this basic rule of injection safety.

Through every means at our disposal, outbreaks like the one in San Pedro must be prevented. As we work to create widespread change, we bring our understanding, compassion and tools to those who have been affected. At one time or another, we are all patients. I urge everyone involved in this outbreak to work to serve each person who received a notification letter and anyone who is diagnosed, and to commit to becoming part of necessary community education efforts.

Evelyn McKnight is the founder and president of HONOReform and the HONOReform Foundation in Fremont, Neb. she is the author of “A never Event: Exposing the Largest Outbreak of Hepatitis C in American Healthcare History.”