KALAMAZOO — The Family Health Center (FHC) said a missed step in its sterilization process may have exposed patients to infection after dental care at its Alcott Street clinic between Nov. 3 and Nov. 6, 2025.
In letters sent to an unspecified number of patients, FHC said “some dental instruments used during this time may not have gone through every step of our sterilization process.”
The center is offering to pay for blood tests for hepatitis C, hepatitis B and HIV and urged affected patients to get tested immediately. FHC said treatments would be available at the clinic for anyone who tests positive and recommended repeat testing for each infection three to six months after the initial test.
A press statement shared by CEO Denise Crawford said FHC worked with the Kalamazoo County Department of Health and Human Services and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to determine next steps.
“While there is no indication that any FHC patients are impacted, we proactively determined which patients might have been treated with these items and contacted them directly to offer free lab testing for hepatitis and HIV as a precaution,” the statement said. “FHC also revised the sterilization protocol to make sure this situation never happens again.”
NowKalamazoo made multiple attempts to get more information from FHC by phone and email — both through clinic numbers and a contracted marketing team. Reporters say they were put on hold for more than 10 minutes, redirected to two different staff members, and given inconsistent guidance about testing locations.
When asked where patients should get tested, staff allegedly told reporters “any Bronson Lab.” When asked whether FHC would cover testing costs and how reimbursement would work, callers were transferred to what they were told was “the Quality Lab,” where no one answered and callers were directed to leave a voicemail. NowKalamazoo reported that no one returned those messages.
By the time of publication, questions submitted to the Family Health Center and its representatives had not been answered.