July 14, 2010
Miller: VA must be Held Accountable for Continued Lapses in Patient Safety
For more information, contact: Brian Lawrence (202) 225-3527
St. Louis, Missouri — Yesterday, Congressman Jeff Miller (R-FL), of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, participated in a full committee oversight hearing on the most recent lapse in patient safety at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
The Committee convened in St. Louis, Missouri, where VA’s National Infectious Diseases Program Office revealed several incidents in which VA employees failed to follow proper procedures for sterilizing dental equipment.
The Board discovered the incidents during a site visit at the John Cochran VA Medical Center on March 9-12, 2010. Specifically, it found that VA staff had not followed protocol that requires cleaning the equipment with a special detergent prior to sterilization. Such errors potentially exposed numerous veterans to hepatitis B, C and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
“Over the past two years, we have been confronted with the discovery of the improper cleaning of various types of reusable medical equipment in locations such as Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Miami, Florida; Augusta, Georgia; and San Juan, Puerto Rico,” Miller said.
“After each incident, Congress and the country were assured that VA was addressing these serious threats to patient safety and that our veteran’s trust would not again be compromised. Unfortunately, VA’s assurances proved hollow. It is time for VA senior leaders to be held accountable for these serious lapses in patient safety.”
While the Clinical Risk Assessment Advisory Board made a determination that the risk of infection was extremely low, it decided to err on the side of caution and sent disclosure letters to 1,812 affected veterans. VA will provide the individuals identified with serology testing for hepatitis B and C, and HIV.
Dental services at the Medical Center in St. Louis were suspended in March for fifteen days and all veterans with appointments were given the option to reschedule or to receive care at a private community clinic at VA expense.
Miller continued, “VA must be held to a higher standard of accountability and transparency, particularly when the health of our nation’s veterans is at stake. The men and women who may have been exposed to infection as a result of this improper cleaning have served our country honorably--the very least we can offer them in exchange for their bravery and service is health care that is safe and effective.”