Editor’s Note: The information below has been shared directly with our McLendon Clinical Laboratories teammates, faculty and students, and we are working to contact former lab teammates. We are sharing this message with all teammates for your awareness and will keep you updated as more information becomes available.
Dear UNC Hospitals and UNC School of Medicine Teammates,
We are writing to inform you of recent concerns raised by teammates about a possible pattern of cancer diagnoses of current and former teammates of the clinical laboratory area on the first floor of McLendon Clinical Laboratories at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill.
We do not have access to our teammates’ medical records, so our knowledge comes from two individuals who shared that four current teammates and possibly an additional 10-12 former teammates have had a cancer diagnosis sometime in the last 20 years.
In response to these concerns, UNC Hospitals leadership contacted the NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) to consult the agency’s occupational and environmental epidemiology staff to assess the situation. After conducting this outreach, we requested that the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) perform a health hazard evaluation.
Our top priority is the health and safety of our UNC Health and UNC School of Medicine teammates, patients, and students. We consulted NCDHHS and requested this evaluation from NIOSH as these agencies have access to the expertise and background to determine if there is any environmental concern, and we want to ensure the safety of our working environments.
On January 23, NCDHHS will visit the laboratory to begin its initial assessment. We are still waiting for confirmation that NIOSH will conduct its evaluation and aren’t yet sure how long the process will take, but we will keep you informed every step of the way. This evaluation generally takes anywhere from six to 12 months and sometimes longer, and the next steps are dependent upon guidance and timelines shared by NIOSH.
In the coming weeks, we will learn more about what NIOSH’s evaluation will include and what impact it will have on the day-to-day operations at the laboratory. We will update you as details become available.
We know that this news may be unsettling to you and your colleagues, and we are committed to being proactive and transparent during this evaluation, answering questions as more details are available and supporting you and your families.
We have created a dedicated, secure phone line and email for questions or to share concerns. Please call 984-974-4870 or email labassessment@unchealth.unc.edu and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
If you have specific health information about your own cancer diagnosis which you would like to include in this assessment, please watch for future communications on the best way to share that as we receive further guidance from NIOSH and NCDHHS.
Disclosing any of your personal health information is strictly voluntary.
We appreciate that this is a sensitive situation, and we are working to ensure our teammates have the resources they need as we work to uncover answers while maintaining privacy of teammates.
Thank you in advance for your patience and your cooperation,
Janet Hadar, President of UNC Hospitals
Stephen Finch, Vice President of Operations at UNC Hospitals
Dr. Erica Pettigrew, Occupational Health Medical Director at UNC Hospitals
