UNITED STATES: Top Senator Calls for Structural Changes at VA

[Guest guest]

CDC 06-25-09

UNITED STATES: " Top Senator Calls for Structural Changes at VA "

Associated Press (06.24.09):: Ben

On Wednesday at a hearing called in response to revelations of poor

infection-control practices at three VA medical facilities, the chair of the

Senate Veterans Affairs Committee said the VA's medical system needs more

centralized control. " True quality assurance has to be managed across the system

and that means central office must exercise greater control, " said Sen.

Akaka (D-Hawaii).

Since February, when the VA began warning some 10,000 patients of its facilities

in Miami, Murfreesboro, Tenn., and Augusta, Ga., of a years-long pattern of

errors in disinfecting endoscopy equipment, six patients have tested positive

for HIV, 34 for hepatitis C, and 13 for hepatitis B. It is not possible to trace

the infections directly to the flawed cleaning practices.

" The more I learn about this case, the more it seems to be a case of extreme

negligence, " said Sen. Burr (N.C.), the committee's ranking Republican.

" With multiple past incidents, multiple warning signs, there is no possible

justification as to why this has still not been corrected. "

Burr and other senators questioned whether the VA's Ann Arbor, Mich.-based

national center overseeing patient safety is high enough on its organizational

chart.

While the VA has maintained that the errors were limited to the sites implicated

in the current investigation, the agency's inspector general last week released

a report suggesting the problems are more widespread. The VA said a " small

low-risk event " at its Mountain Home, Tenn., facility " has revealed no positive

tests. "

The VA is releasing $26 million from reserve funds to buy new equipment to

improve the cleaning of endoscopes and other reusable medical devices, said

, an agency spokesperson.

[Guest guest]

CDC 06-25-09

UNITED STATES: " Top Senator Calls for Structural Changes at VA "

Associated Press (06.24.09):: Ben

On Wednesday at a hearing called in response to revelations of poor

infection-control practices at three VA medical facilities, the chair of the

Senate Veterans Affairs Committee said the VA's medical system needs more

centralized control. " True quality assurance has to be managed across the system

and that means central office must exercise greater control, " said Sen.

Akaka (D-Hawaii).

Since February, when the VA began warning some 10,000 patients of its facilities

in Miami, Murfreesboro, Tenn., and Augusta, Ga., of a years-long pattern of

errors in disinfecting endoscopy equipment, six patients have tested positive

for HIV, 34 for hepatitis C, and 13 for hepatitis B. It is not possible to trace

the infections directly to the flawed cleaning practices.

" The more I learn about this case, the more it seems to be a case of extreme

negligence, " said Sen. Burr (N.C.), the committee's ranking Republican.

" With multiple past incidents, multiple warning signs, there is no possible

justification as to why this has still not been corrected. "

Burr and other senators questioned whether the VA's Ann Arbor, Mich.-based

national center overseeing patient safety is high enough on its organizational

chart.

While the VA has maintained that the errors were limited to the sites implicated

in the current investigation, the agency's inspector general last week released

a report suggesting the problems are more widespread. The VA said a " small

low-risk event " at its Mountain Home, Tenn., facility " has revealed no positive

tests. "

The VA is releasing $26 million from reserve funds to buy new equipment to

improve the cleaning of endoscopes and other reusable medical devices, said

, an agency spokesperson.

[Guest guest]

CDC 06-25-09

UNITED STATES: " Top Senator Calls for Structural Changes at VA "

Associated Press (06.24.09):: Ben

On Wednesday at a hearing called in response to revelations of poor

infection-control practices at three VA medical facilities, the chair of the

Senate Veterans Affairs Committee said the VA's medical system needs more

centralized control. " True quality assurance has to be managed across the system

and that means central office must exercise greater control, " said Sen.

Akaka (D-Hawaii).

Since February, when the VA began warning some 10,000 patients of its facilities

in Miami, Murfreesboro, Tenn., and Augusta, Ga., of a years-long pattern of

errors in disinfecting endoscopy equipment, six patients have tested positive

for HIV, 34 for hepatitis C, and 13 for hepatitis B. It is not possible to trace

the infections directly to the flawed cleaning practices.

" The more I learn about this case, the more it seems to be a case of extreme

negligence, " said Sen. Burr (N.C.), the committee's ranking Republican.

" With multiple past incidents, multiple warning signs, there is no possible

justification as to why this has still not been corrected. "

Burr and other senators questioned whether the VA's Ann Arbor, Mich.-based

national center overseeing patient safety is high enough on its organizational

chart.

While the VA has maintained that the errors were limited to the sites implicated

in the current investigation, the agency's inspector general last week released

a report suggesting the problems are more widespread. The VA said a " small

low-risk event " at its Mountain Home, Tenn., facility " has revealed no positive

tests. "

The VA is releasing $26 million from reserve funds to buy new equipment to

improve the cleaning of endoscopes and other reusable medical devices, said

, an agency spokesperson.

[Guest guest]

CDC 06-25-09

UNITED STATES: " Top Senator Calls for Structural Changes at VA "

Associated Press (06.24.09):: Ben

On Wednesday at a hearing called in response to revelations of poor

infection-control practices at three VA medical facilities, the chair of the

Senate Veterans Affairs Committee said the VA's medical system needs more

centralized control. " True quality assurance has to be managed across the system

and that means central office must exercise greater control, " said Sen.

Akaka (D-Hawaii).

Since February, when the VA began warning some 10,000 patients of its facilities

in Miami, Murfreesboro, Tenn., and Augusta, Ga., of a years-long pattern of

errors in disinfecting endoscopy equipment, six patients have tested positive

for HIV, 34 for hepatitis C, and 13 for hepatitis B. It is not possible to trace

the infections directly to the flawed cleaning practices.

" The more I learn about this case, the more it seems to be a case of extreme

negligence, " said Sen. Burr (N.C.), the committee's ranking Republican.

" With multiple past incidents, multiple warning signs, there is no possible

justification as to why this has still not been corrected. "

Burr and other senators questioned whether the VA's Ann Arbor, Mich.-based

national center overseeing patient safety is high enough on its organizational

chart.

While the VA has maintained that the errors were limited to the sites implicated

in the current investigation, the agency's inspector general last week released

a report suggesting the problems are more widespread. The VA said a " small

low-risk event " at its Mountain Home, Tenn., facility " has revealed no positive

tests. "

The VA is releasing $26 million from reserve funds to buy new equipment to

improve the cleaning of endoscopes and other reusable medical devices, said

, an agency spokesperson.