A VA hospital in St. Louis may have exposed more than 1,800 veterans to diseases including HIV and hepatitis.
The John Cochran VA Medical Center sent letters to 1,812 patients explaining that they were at risk for contracting hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV because dental technicians had improperly cleaned their instruments. The lapse in protocol occurred over a period of 13 months, from February 2009 to March 2010, CNN reports.
Representative Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.) is calling for an investigation into the problem, and said that he has written a letter to President Obama.
“This is absolutely unacceptable,” Carnahan told CNN. “No veteran who has served and risked their life for this great nation should have to worry about their personal safety when receiving much needed health care services from a Veterans Administration hospital.”
A special clinic has been set up for patients who may have been infected with the diseases, but Carnahan feels more needs to be done.
“I can only imagine the horror and anger our veterans must be feeling after receiving this letter,” he said.
I am not a fan of VA hospitals; however, being clean is a problem at all hospitals. I don’t know what it will take for the govt to enforce standards (perhaps steep fines or denying physicians hospital privileges)but it’s not doing what’s necessary. Neither are the hospitals or physician certification boards — or any of the regulatory agencies.
Maybe part of the problem is that the public, patients, just can’t quite believe that their doctors refuse to wash their hands! In fact, according to the National Quality Forum, compliance rates at hospitals are generally LESS THAN 50 percent — including surgeons prior to performing surgery. HOLY COW.
Because of this long-time lack of a sterile environment, MRSA — the strain of a once- innocous staph infection — has become invulnerable to first-line antibiotics. Hospitals are so desperate that they are using hidden cameras and measuring the soap in dispensers to catch those who do not wash. Ethic Soup has followed this problem with some very good posts:
http://www.ethicsoup.com/2009/01/dont-kill-me-doctor-wash-your-hands.html
http://www.ethicsoup.com/2009/09/doctors-wont-wash-hands-hospital-infections-killing-more-patients.html
This does not amaze me at all.
I’ve been trying to get the powers-to-be to understand the VA is nothing more than a third-rate health care system.
I’m a combat-wounded Veteran, and I avoided the VA for 30 years after the crappy practice I saw when I came back. Then I heard they were pumping all this funding into the system and revamping it. I gave it a second chance. They may have poured billions into it but it’s the same sorry mess it has always been. It just looks a little prettier.
I can no longer afford health insurance, so I have to look for alternatives. I have a pinched nerve in my leg that is ruining my knee and everything south of it. FOUR TIMES I’ve had the VA doctors look at it, and each time they have misdiagnosed it and treated it the wrong way. I’ve been in absolutely FILTHY examination rooms, I’ve had nurses perform blood draws from me who don’t follow protocols, I’ve witnessed a Veteran die in an outpatient clinic because normal hospital protocols for respiratory distress weren’t followed and medical staff at check-in didn’t triage him correctly. In fact, I’ve never seen them do anything more than ‘check people in”. I had a patient Ombudsman tell me all would be well; yet when I asked him if he knew what HIPPA was, he had never heard of it. I’ve had staff misplace my families records, staff who couldn’t even spell the simplest of words. And did I mention, they lost a third of my medical records? There is more; I invite any national news reporter to contact me. I can provide you with an unbelievable list; and I’m just one Veteran.
I’ve contacted my Senators. Their staff just blow you off if you are over a certain age or generation, and that includes Franken’s and Klobuchar’s office. They actually believe the VA system is a good system (it makes for great sound bytes on the campaign trail.)
The VA system is a sinkhole for funding. The staff are federal employees, and no matter how bad they perform, they and their employer know, they can’t be sued. And they certainly can’t be fired.
There is an alternative. Give Veterans, especially combat-wounded Veterans a medical card that can be used at any facility of our choosing. Since everyone is so thankful for our service, why can’t we be allowed at least the same quality of health care as the general public; or better yet, why not the same level of health care that congress and all the federal employees receive? Simple questions. We served all the citizens of this country. We are the Warriors that provide them the security they take for granted. Why should we be punished by being dumped into a health care system that has a culture, a mentality, and a level of quality where mediocrity is many levels higher? We don’t want special treatment. We just want safe, professional treatment, just like the rest of the country.
Today, I tell every recruit I meet, to not enlist. Why? This nation chews up its military, spits them out and hopes they die a quiet, unnoticed and inexpensive death. This is how you, the American public, are treating your Veterans.