Over the last 24 months 13,000 veterans have been advised to have a blood test to check for infections caused by lack of hygiene at VA hospitals in Tennessee, Georgia, Missouri, Ohio and Florida. Reports about unsanitary conditions at VA hospitals has irked a significant number of veterans and politicians.

A dentist at Dayton VA Medical Center regularly failed to sterilize equipment, he also used the same dirty latex gloves on consecutive patients – practices which raise the risk of spreading blood-borne diseases, such as hepatitis or HIV.

12,000 veterans have had their blood tested so far. Eight of them were found to be HIV-positive and 61 had hepatitis B or C, three of which were at Dayton.

There is no information on how these people became infected – whether from treatment at a VA hospital or elsewhere.

Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton was horrified about the unsanitary conditions and practices at Dayton. He described the description of the dental practitioner as irresponsible and outrageous.

Mike Turner said:

“The fact that any medical practitioner could be so irresponsible is outrageous, let alone at a facility which is charged with caring for those who have protected us from tyranny.”

The dentist who failed to sterilize equipment or change gloves between patients, Dr. Dwight M. Pemberton retired in February this year after the scandal became public.

Mike Turner had said when the scandal broke out:

“How could this happen and no one be held accountable? How could this happen for so many years and action not be taken to stop it?”

Improper practices occurred in other medical centers too. At the St. Louis VA medical center, the cleaning of reusable dental equipment was unsatisfactory between February 2009 and March 2010. 1,812 patients had their blood tested, of which four tested positive for hepatitis C or B. Improper cleaning of equipment related to colonoscopies in Miami placed over 2,600 veterans at risk of blood-borne infections. Tests found three HIV positive patients, seven with hepatitis C and one with hepatitis B.

On May 3 the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs held a hearing entitled “Sacred Obligation: Restoring Veteran Trust and Patient Safety,” concerning medical sanitization processes at VA facilities in Dayton, St. Louis and Miami.

Representative Jeff Miller (FL-01), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, said:

“This is unconscionable. Imagine having survived the battlefield to return home, visit a VA hospital, only to receive a letter in the mail years later stating you may be at risk of having contracted an infectious disease because of the improper sterilization of medical equipment. These incidents shatter the very trust we all assume on behalf of our veterans.”

The Committee said that even after actions by a dentist employed by VA from 1982-2010 came to the public’s attention, the VA has shown an apparent lack of leadership and has not fully acted in response.

Mike Turner said:

“Without the leadership of Chairman Miller and this Committee, veterans in our district would not have known about these egregious violations of basic medical standards. The VA owes us a clear explanation of the events that have occurred and have yet to release to our community, documents which show that they taken every step necessary to notify veterans that may have been infected by the dentist in question.”

Miller said:

“The time for talk is over. VA must confront these issues head on, deepen the obligation to care for the veterans affected by these incidents, and make the necessary changes within the VA healthcare system to prevent any future incidents that put our veteran patients at risk.”

William Montague was called out of retirement to head the Dayton VA medical center, where he has been acting director since March 2011. His aim is not only to improve safety issues, but also to upgrade and expand veteran services in the southwest-western Ohio region.

So far, Mike Turner rates Montague well – he said there is more communication and transparency under Montague.

Montague said:

“Yes, part of my job is damage control. Damage control is looking in the rear-view mirror. The other part of my job is to create a strategic plan that serves our veterans population extremely well. We plan to compete with private hospitals for every eligible veteran in our region. I think VA care exceeds patient care in the private sector. We treat the whole patient.”

Montague says renovation plans are underway for the center, which was initially built in 1867.

Montague says he will be at his job for a significant length of time. His current appointment is a one-year contract.

In 2008, the American Customer Satisfaction Index revealed a satisfaction rating of 85 for inpatient treatment at VA medical centers compared to 77 for private hospitals. VA medical centers outpatient care got a 3-point higher rating than private hospitals.

In fact, compared to virtually all medical systems in the USA, including Medicare, VA tends to get better ratings.

Written by Christian Nordqvist