Unsafe practices have been revealed at more health care centers. The legislature's health committee met Thursday to discuss the hepatitis and HIV alert at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada. But during the process, they found out unsafe practices are going on at more than the six clinics already pinpointed.

Testimony to Legislative Committee on Health Care

It's nothing but more unsettling news for valley residents. The Nevada Health Division says they recently inspected 13 surgical clinics, only to find staff re-using vials of medicine and syringes, even after being made aware of the risks.

Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie said, “I find it just unfathomable that we are having this problem. It sounds to me like the problem is more widespread than I ever imagined.”

Saturday Seminar on Health, Legal Issues For Endoscopy Center Patients

It's the last piece of news anyone, including lawmakers, wanted to hear. Unsafe medical practices stretch farther than just the six clinics that have already been closed.

Read about the background of the doctors

“We're finding problems at a variety of different levels related to medication re-use — in some cases, syringe reuse,” said Lisa Jones, Nevada Health Division.

The health division has recently inspected 13 surgical clinics and found unsafe medical practices at some — practices that were taking place even after news that 40,000 valley residents were possibly exposed to hepatitis and HIV.

The last time a full inspection was done on the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada was back in 2001. The Southern Nevada Health District says there's a possibility exposure to infectious disease could have spread back farther than the 2004 date they're currently investigating, but they don't know for sure.

UMC Offering Help to Medical Center Patients

“I think the people who perpetrated this are absolutely monstrous. They cannot claim that they did not know the consequences of their actions, and I think it is absolutely heinous we have put the public in this position,” said Assemblywoman Susan Gerhardt.

For now, lawmakers are concerned with getting the Bureau of Licensure and Certification enough resources to keep up with inspections to make sure something like this never happens again.

Add your comments to the LasVegasNOW Blog

In addition, five certified registered nurse anesthetists who worked at the Shadow Lane clinic were asked to voluntarily surrender their licenses and certificates to practice in Nevada. All five complied. State lawmakers are now asking that the doctors also be given the chance to do the same.

Patients don't need to get tested at this point, because viruses have not been linked to any of these clinics. But state lawmakers say if the infraction puts people's lives at risk, they think the clinics should be closed immediately. The health division says each clinic has to be given due process.

A death investigation has Henderson Police waiting on DNA evidence to figure out what killed a woman. Five days after the body was found, it sits in the coroner's lab.

Henderson Police say they got involved because the body may be one of their missing persons cases. The question is whether the body is that of Mariela Moreno, missing since New Year's Eve.

The coroner's office has been working since last week to determine who this woman is. Found near Sunset Park, the woman's body may shed light on the missing 20-year-old. Police aren't saying who they think the woman is, but the coroner is hoping to find out.

“We're working very hard. Our staff is putting in long hours to try to identify this decedent and we're doing everything we can, from the fingerprint route to the DNA route,” said Assistant Coroner John Fudenberg.

Fudenberg says 99-percent of the time they are able to identify someone in the first 24 hours.

“When we have a good idea on who it is, we'll use aggressive means to identify them. We'll get DNA from their family right away,” he said.

It's been more than two months since 20-year-old Mariela Moreno went missing. Her boyfriend, Isidro Munoz, said he dropped her off after a New Years Eve party. She was never seen again.

Munoz has since gone to Mexico and Mariela's sister fears the worst.

“Where is she? We want to know what happened with her,” said Mariela's sister Monica Moreno.

Police said they can't yet consider him a suspect because there was no evidence that a crime had been committed.

“In this case, we're at a point where we don't have any more evidence that points us in a new direction,” said Henderson Police Officer Todd Rasmussen.

The coroner's office hopes to have a positive identity soon. They want to give this woman's family answers and perhaps some closure.

The coroner's office is also working to still determine what caused the woman's death. They say because of the investigation they can not say if there were sign of foul play.

Email your comments to Reporter Amanda Hernandez

The Clark County School Board decided to rezone several valley schools Tuesday night.

It was a full house, as parents for and against the recommendations expressed their opinions to trustees.

The rezoning change means some students from Lamping Elementary School will now be required to attend school at Glen Taylor Elementary, in order to ease overcrowding.

Rezoning for Aggie Roberts and John Beatty Elementary Schools was postponed until next school year.

Dozens of parents upset over school rezoning recommendations are signed up to speak at the Clark County school board meeting tonight. School board trustees are expected to vote on some of the recommendations. 

The re-zoning recommendations impact several schools in the valley and in some cases have become very controversial. In recent months, parents even held informational pickets at some of the schools.

One of the most hotly contested rezoning recommendations involves students moving from Lamping Elementary School to Glen Taylor Elementary School. Parents say the process has become very nasty.

“In our school it's gotten ugly. You have parents in different neighborhoods who have been pitted against each other who at the very beginning wanted to work together to keep everybody there,” said Kevinn Donovan, a parent. Under the rezoning proposal, his student may be rezoned from Lamping to Taylor.

He says this is a complicated issue and needs more time to be reviewed. “You can't expect to make a decision like this with the amount of public input they've had in two months. It's not possible,” he said.

On the other side of the issue is parent Crystal Thurman. She lives in Anthem Country Club and her kids will stay at Lamping if the recommendation is approved.

“We felt like we did the right thing. We followed all of the rules. We did exactly what we were supposed to do and we feel like in the end maybe that's what got rewarded,” she said.

Parents have argued that recommendations were made in favor of the more affluent families that live in Anthem, and not those who do not live in the country club.

Ken Rezendes is a member of the board who recommended the rezoning to ease overcrowding at Lamping.

“This was never about the guys who had more money and the guys who don't. This was about trying to serve the community and school in the best way that we can,” said ken Rezendez, Attendance Zone Advisory Committee member.

School board trustees can vote on the recommendations or study they further. 

Henderson city officials suspended the business license of Gastroenterology Center of Nevada Tuesday, making it the fifth medical center to be closed.

This closure follows a widening concern about practices at some clinics that may have resulted in patients being exposed to hepatitis.

UMC Offering Help to Medical Center Patients

Clark County officials also pulled the business licenses Monday of three clinics affiliated with and managed by the owners of the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada, the clinic at the center of the investigation. Their license was pulled the previous week.

The following centers are now closed:

• Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada, 700 Shadow Lane
• Desert Shadow Endoscopy Center, 4275 S. Burnham
• Gastroenterology Center of Nevada, 4275 S. Burnham 
• Spanish Hills Surgical Center, 5915 S. Rainbow Blvd.
• Gastroenterology Center of Nevada, 2610 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway

Henderson officials say they issued the license suspension due to concerns that a public health emergency exists. They also say that the clinic would not provide access to a Business License Officer during normal business hours.

“Because this business is owned and operated by the same people who own facilities throughout Clark County that are currently closed and under investigation, we will be interested in not only our location but the business practices and suitability of all establishments owned by this group before we allow them to operate in Henderson,” said Henderson Mayor James Gibson.

The clinics are owned by Dr. Dipak Desai.

The Southern Nevada Health District is advising patients who received anesthesia medication at the Endoscopy Center of Nevada between March 2004 to Jan. 11, 2008 to contact their doctors and be tested for hepatitis and HIV.