Lecture to focus on ‘never event’

Evelyn McKnight, Au.D., and Tom McKnight, M.D.

Evelyn McKnight, Au.D., and Tom McKnight, M.D.

Evelyn McKnight, Au.D., and Tom McKnight, M.D., will deliver the 27th annual John S. Latta Lecture on the topic “A Historic Nebraska ‘Never Event’ — How Do We Prevent Others?” They will speak from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, April 24, at the Sorrell Center, Room 3002.

A “never event” is the term used to describe a preventable medical tragedy. Dr. Evelyn McKnight, a Fremont resident, is one of 99 cancer survivors who contracted hepatitis C through unsafe injection practices while receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer in 2000-2001. Dr. Tom McKnight, a UNMC alum (1977) and clinical instructor in the College of Medicine, helped uncover the outbreak when he diagnosed the disease in several of his patients.

The McKnights founded Hepatitis Outbreaks’ National Organization for Reform in 2007 and were instrumental in the development and securing of funds for the One and Only Campaign, through partnerships with the CDC Foundation, the CDC and the Safe Injection Practices Coalition. The One and Only Campaign is an educational campaign to educate providers about injection safety and to empower patients to partner with their health care providers.

RSVP are requested by Wednesday, April 23, through email or by calling (402) 559-4385.

Lunch is available at 11:45 a.m. for the first 120 registrants. Unregistered attendees are welcome, but lunch may not be available.