U.S. Senators to Hold Hearings After Veterans Test Positive for Infections

A U.S. Senate committee will ask officials with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs how mistakes at three VA medical centers in the Southeast, including a clinic in Augusta, may have exposed veterans to infections such as HIV and hepatitis.

The Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs has set a June 24 hearing for VA officials to explain how mistakes with endoscopic equipment possibly exposed patients to infectious body fluids in Augusta, Murfreesboro, Tenn., and Miami.

The committee's announcement comes shortly after a U.S. House of Representatives Veterans Affairs subcommittee announced it would hold its own hearing on June 16.

The VA has warned more than 10,000 former patients at the three medical centers to get follow-up blood checks. Five of the patients have tested positive for HIV so far, and 43 have tested positive for hepatitis.

In Augusta, the problem affected rhinoscopes in an ear, nose and throat clinic at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center. Officials in February said an employee improperly sterilized the rhinoscopes with disinfectant designed for exam tables instead of a stronger one specifically designed for the scopes.

A top doctor at the federal agency has stressed that the positive results for the diseases may not have come from hospital mistakes.

Veterans Affairs Will Avoid HIV Link

A top doctor at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says former patients who tested positive for HIV or hepatitis will not be able to show they were infected by tainted equipment at VA medical centers. Five patients have tested positive for HIV and 33 have tested positive for hepatitis since the VA started notifying more than 11,000 people treated at three VA medical centers in Miami, Georgia and Tennessee that they may have been exposed to infectious body fluids after using endoscopic equipment that wasn't properly sterilized. The blood tests are continuing. The agency has stressed that the positive results for the diseases may not have come from hospital mistakes. The VA's chief patient safety officer, Dr. Jim Bagian, said he doesn't think anyone will ever know.

(Associated Press)

GA VA Patient Tests HIV Positive after Contamination

A patient at a Georgia Veterans Affair clinic has tested positive for HIV after being exposed to contaminated medical equipment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs says unverified tests show that this is the third person to have the virus that causes AIDS among thousands getting blood tests because equipment wasn’t properly sanitized. That’s one patient each from Murfreesboro Tennessee, Augusta Georgia, and a Miami medical facility.

The contaminated endoscopic machines exposed the patients to the body fluid of others.

The VA also said six tests have come back positive for Hepatitis B, and 19 positive tests for Hepatitis C among the three locations.

(Associated Press)

V.A. clinic opens on coast

A new veterans' clinic is open on the coast. The Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in St. Marys will save thousands of veterans long drives for medical treatment and advice about benefits. It will be fully staffed by December with 20 doctors, nurses, lab technicians and a pharmacist. The VA says the clinic will accept veterans from anywhere with no geographical restrictions.

(Associated Press)

VA to open new outpatient clinics

The Department of Veteran Affairs plans to open four outpatients clinics in Newnan, Brunswick, Milledgeville and Hinesville.

U.S. Senators (R) Saxby Chambliss, and (R) Johnny Isakson, commented on the step, in a statement released by their offices:

“Our veterans deserve access to the very best medical care and services,” said Chambliss, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “The announcement of these new clinics is great news for veterans in our state who have served our nation with honor.”

“This is outstanding news that Georgia will receive four new VA clinics to deliver to our veterans the level of VA care they deserve,” Isakson said. “As a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, one of my top priorities is to make sure America takes care of the veterans who have dedicated their lives to serving our country.”

VA officials say they expect to open the community-based centers over the next 12 months. There are 10 VA outpatient clinics operating in Georgia.

Click here for more information about Georgia VA facilities.

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Veterans Center Named for Congressman

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Augusta is being re-named in honor of a late congressman. President Bush today signed a law re-naming the center the Charlie Norwood Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Norwood, a Republican, represented eastern Georgia's 10th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives for 12 years until his death from cancer on February 13.