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.

Some GA veterans may soon be homeless

(Photo: Carl Zornes)

Governor Sonny Perdue honored Georgia veterans in the State Capitol today by declaring November 11th Veterans Day.

“That’s what Veterans Day’s about. Men and women and courage and valor – individual and as a group, fighting for freedom in America.”

But some of the less fortunate veterans may soon be homeless.

Because of state budget cuts, residents of the Georgia War Veterans Home in Milledgeville could be without a place to live come November 30th. Dale Parham says he's one of them.

“On August 28 we was given the eviction notice, in the form of a letter, asking us to be out – to vacate the premises by November the 30^th.”

Parham attended the ceremony with hopes of speaking with the Governor. But right after the event ended, Gov. Perdue was quickly escorted away.

Democrat leader of the State Senate Robert Brown said that it's all a matter of how the state's money is budgeted.

"You're talking about $2.7 million out of a $20 million budget. A budget in which you have programs like Go Fish Georgia. A budget in which you have horsefarms and other things that we are funding. And you are saying that you can't spend $2.7 million to help veterans who have fought and bled for this country... That is poppycock."

Brown said he hopes public attention will get the governor to intervene and stop the evictions.

$21M for veterans building

Congress has adopted legislation paving the way for a $21 million renovation of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Atlanta. The money will go toward upgrading the inpatient ward at the hospital. The measure now goes to President George Bush for final approval.

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.

South Georgia WWII program honored

The founders of a group that has sent more than 200 World War II veterans for visits to Washington D.C. have been honored by a national military organization. The Military Officers Association of America has honored Bert Powell and "Buddy" Johnson. The two formed Honor Flight South Georgia, which sends veterans of the second World War to see the war's memorial in the nation's capital. There are several such programs across the country--the Valdosta and south Georgia program raised more than 100-thousand dollars locally earlier this year.

Finishing touches for veterans cemetary

A southeast Georgia farm soon will become the state’s newest veterans cemetery. The Glennville cemetery is next to the far southwestern corner of Fort Stewart near Savannah. About 770,000 veterans live in Georgia and more are expected as the state's coastline continues to attract retirees from the North. The dedication ceremony is scheduled for November 28th.

VA Clinic Opens in Rome, GA

A new VA Clinic is opening tomorrowin Rome to service some 75 thousand veterans that live in North West Georgia and local veterans will no longer have to drive to metro Atlanta to receive care at a VA Hospital.

Local Congressman Phil Gingrey spent a year and a half trying to get the Veterans Affairs Administration in Washington to open a clinic in Rome. Gingrey says he couldn’t have done it with out heavy lobbying from Georgia’s Veterans.

"The veterans themselves organized and signed over 2,000 petitions letters and when you put that on a desk in front of a commissioner in Washington and he can no longer see over his desk…that has a tendency to get his attention," said Gingrey.

The clinic will have basic laboratory and radiology services. Opening day appointments are already booked.

University System celebrates 75 years by looking ahead

The University System of Georgia has come a long way since 1932, when it had just 6,000 students. Officials celebrated the system's 75th anniversary Wednesday by planning for its future.

In a new strategic plan, the Board of Regents estimates that Georgia's public colleges and universities will serve more than 350,000 students by 2020. To accomplish that feat, it will need to maximize space.

Under the plan, the student body will look different than it does today. It will be more diverse. More students will graduate. Currently, fewer than half of the system's students graduate within six years. There also will be renewed emphasis on graduating health care professionals to ease Georgia's shortage.

The Board of Regents says it will accomplish these goals while keeping tuition low. It will push universities to obtain more federal research funds.

Financial break for war veterans

Also Wednesday, the Board of Regents approved a waiver for combat veterans. They will not have to pay mandatory school fees, which often run as high as $600 per semester.