VA acts fast after dental equipment scare - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

VA acts fast after dental equipment scare

A major veterans group is left with mixed feelings in the wake of another scandal over improper medical procedures that exposed veterans to potential harm — and the Veterans Affairs Department’s reaction to it.

The new incident involves improperly cleaned dental equipment at John Cochran VA Medical Center in St. Louis, which could have exposed veterans to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

“We are disappointed such an incident occurred on the heels of a similar issue with sterilization of colonoscopy equipment,” said David Gorman, executive director of the Washington, D.C., headquarters of Disabled American Veterans. “However, we give great credit to VA for being forthcoming in their willingness to furnish information on the incident and notification of potentially affected veterans.”

More than 1,800 veterans are being notified of the potential exposure, about 1,270 from Missouri and about 500 from Illinois, according to Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-Mo., whose congressional district includes the hospital.

Veterans treated at the dental clinic between Feb. 1, 2009, and March 11, 2010, might be at risk for contracting HIV, Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C because clinic workers improperly cleaned dental tools, Carnahan said.

VA officials said the problem is that workers hand-washed tools without using detergent and then put them in a sterilization machine. Manufacturer warnings call for detergent to be used with the hand cleaning.

The improper procedures create a “slim, slim, slim potential” that a virus might have survived, said a VA official, who said the department decided that the proper thing to do was to notify everyone treated at the dental clinic.

In a statement, VA said its “primary focus is the safety and care of our veterans.”

“Our leadership recognizes the seriousness of this situation and has implemented safeguards to prevent a similar situation from occurring again,” the statement says. “While VA believes there is minimal risk, any risk at all is unacceptable. Any error in judgment or procedure will not be tolerated.”

Gorman said the quick warning was a good move, but VA needs to do more.

“VA must now do everything in its power to bring in as many veterans as may want care and test and provide them with anything and everything they need, including psychological counseling and indicated medical care,” Gorman said.

VA also must “do more than it has in the past to establish system-wide training and safeguards to be sure this does not happen again,” he added.

Carnahan has written to President Obama and VA Secretary Eric Shinseki calling for a full investigation, saying veterans have “every right to be angry.” He also has asked the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee to hold a hearing so VA officials can be questioned about how something like this could happen.

“It is simply unacceptable,” he said.

At least three VA medical centers, in Nashville, Miami and Augusta, Ga., were found to have used improper procedures for cleaning equipment after colonoscopies from 2008 through 2009. VA officials have been unable to ensure that all problems with equipment handling have been resolved.