GOSHEN, IN - According to CNN, over a thousand surgical patients in an Indiana hospital may have been exposed to HIV as well as hepatitis B and C due to an error in the hospital’s procedure for sanitizing surgical equipment.

The costly mistake occurred at Goshen Hospital and was linked back to a technician who skipped a step in the cleansing process.

The hospital identified 1,182 surgical patients who were seen between April and September of 2019 who may have been affected. These patients were sent notification letters and have been offered free testing for the viruses.

The hospital says  risk of exposure is "extremely low" and free testing for HIV and hepatitis are being provided only out of an abundance of caution.

Goshen’s president and chief medical officer said the following in a Nov. 20th health update, "While our sterile processing and infectious disease experts believe that the potential transmission of blood-borne viruses between patients is extremely remote, out of an abundance of caution, we want to verify through lab blood tests that patients have not been harmed."

The hospital also says a call center has also been set up for patients to ask questions and schedule testing.