MEDIA CONTACTs:
Steven Engelhardt (Clay)
314-504-4029

Paul Sloca (Luetkemeyer)
573-886-8929
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THURSDAY, 7.1.10

Clay, Luetkemeyer Call for Oversight Investigation of Safety Lapses at

John Cochran VA Medical Center 

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay (MO-1) and U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-9) today have requested that the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee begin investigating reports that our veterans’ health was put at serious risk by lapsed safety standards at the John Cochran VA Medical Center in St. Louis. Luetkemeyer and Clay both serve on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
 

In a letter to Committee Chairman Edolphus Towns and Ranking Member Darrell Issa, Mr. Luetkemeyer and Mr. Clay said the investigation should focus on alleged incidences of improperly cleaned dental equipment at the John Cochran VA Medical Center, which may have led to the exposure of thousands of veterans to bacteria and viruses, such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and HIV between February 1, 2009 and March 11, 2010.
 

“It is deplorable that any assistance less than the best health care available, along with the possible exposure due to unsterile equipment, is the level of care being offered to our veterans. We must determine what were the causes in the break of standards and what the Department of Veterans Affairs plans to do to remedy the situation to see that it does not occur again,” Luetkemeyer and Clay said.     
 

Luetkemeyer and Clay also want to know why the VA knew about the possibility of exposure in March 2010, yet failed to notify veterans until June 2010.
 

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is the main investigative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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