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300 Surveys Faked In Carthage Case

Story Published: Oct 17, 2012 at 2:54 PM EDT

Story Updated: Oct 18, 2012 at 11:21 AM EDT

There were 'about 300' instances of faked surveys dealing with drug and alcohol abuse, Carthage police chief Reginald Huber told 7 News Wednesday.

Huber's comments came a day after Carthage Area Hospital officials confirmed an employee of the hospital improperly used the identities of patients to fill out the surveys during the summer.

Officials confirmed the incident after a patient, Angela Doyle, contacted 7 News.

It's not clear why the employee used patient names to fake the surveys.

Chief Huber said his department has been aware of the issue for about a month, and is now interviewing the people whose names were improperly used.

"It's really just tracking these people down," the chief said.

Carthage Area Hospital fired the employee after the matter was discovered, hospital officials said.

The surveys were intended for the Jefferson County Community Services, and dealt with things like alcohol consumption and whether the person taking the survey abuses drugs.

(Editor's note: The name of the organization receiving the surveys was incorrect in earlier versions of the story because of an error by Carthage Area Hospital.)

In a statement, the hospital said the information on the surveys was "made up."

"I was in shock," Doyle told 7 News anchor Jeff Nelson. "You think your information is safe and apparently it's not."

Doyle got a letter from the hospital, explaining that her name was used in August. The hospital's letter said no other information - like her social security number - was disclosed.

"Why? What's the gain out of this?" Doyle said Tuesday.

"I think this person should have charges pressed against them," she said. "They could have caused people a lot of hurt."

Hospital officials said all the surveys in question were destroyed.

 

 

 
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
, Watertown, NY

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