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VA'S FACT SHEET ON INFECTED VETERANS
Regularly-updated web page details
infection count in wake of contaminated equipment scare.
by Larry Scott, VA Watchdog dot
Org
In the wake of the Department of
Veterans' Affairs (VA) announcements about
contaminated endoscopic equipment, the number of veterans
identified with viral infections continues to grow.
The
current count is 28 infected with three of those veterans
testing positive for HIV.
To make information about the
contaminated equipment issue easily-accessible to the public and
press, the VA has provided an Endoscopic Report link on their
home page.
The link takes the reader to a
Fact Sheet with the latest information on the number of
veterans tested, where they were tested, the number of reported
infections and the type of infection.
This page is updated as more
information becomes available.
I do believe, however, that the
VA should make this information more readily-available by posting
in on the
Press Release page as this goes out on news feeds to many
veterans. The VA should be sending this news to vets ...
veterans shouldn't have to go seek it out.
The Fact Sheet, as of April 18,
2009, appears below:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VA Continues
Endoscopic Procedure Notification for Veterans
On December 1, 2008, VA’s
Tennessee Health Care System*, located in Murfreesboro, TN,
identified a problem related to the reprocessing of endoscopy
equipment. Following a review of the issue, VA notified patients
to get tested for possible infections that have a low risk of
occurring as a result of these improper processing procedures.
*small low risk
event at Mountain Home, TN has revealed no positive tests
In December and January, all VA
facilities were required to review their processes to ensure they
are in compliance with the manufacturer’s instructions. These
reviews identified significant reprocessing issues at the Augusta
VA Medical Center and at the Miami VA Medical Center, which also
requiring
patient notifications and testing.
Patients who may have been
exposed to cross contamination were patients that received
endoscopic procedures at the:
- Murfreesboro GI Clinic from
April 2003 to December 2008;
- Augusta ENT Clinic from
January 2008 to November 2008; or
- Miami GI Clinic from May 2004
to March 2009
Numbers of
Potentially Affected Patients
| Number of Patients |
Murfreesboro |
Augusta |
Miami |
Total |
| Potentially Affected
(Risk Pool) |
6387 |
1069 |
3341 |
10797 |
| Notified |
6314 |
1069 |
3184 |
10567 |
| Responded to
disclosure or called1 |
7145 |
988 |
2038 |
10171 |
| Declined Testing or
Appointment |
352 |
13 |
103 |
468 |
| Notified of Test Results |
3114 |
671 |
1639 |
5424 |
| Tested with Results2 |
5710 |
7383 |
1880 |
8328 |
| Total Calls to Toll Free
Hotline |
7145 |
487 |
6462 |
14094 |
1 VA continues
notification procedures.
2 Unable to determine exact number of patients
tested, as some may have gone to another center, or outside the
VA system.
3 Some results are preliminary and some are final.
Sites with
Unverified Positive Tests
| Test |
Murfreesboro |
Augusta |
Miami |
Total |
| Hepatitis B Virus |
5 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
| Hepatitis C Virus |
7 |
5 |
7 |
19 |
| HIV |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
These are not necessarily
linked to any endoscopy issues and the evaluation continues. We
are continuing to notify individuals whose letters have been
returned as undeliverable, and working with homeless
coordinators to reach veterans with no known home address.
VA’s Foremost Concern is the
Safety of Patients
As part of the Department’s
commitment to reducing and preventing
 inadvertent
harm to patients, over 100 VA personnel at Murfreesboro, TN;
Augusta, GA; and Miami, FL hospitals have been assigned to ensure
that affected Veterans receive prompt testing and appropriate
counseling. This page reflects the most current notifications,
testing, and results, and will be updated when new information is
available.
The Department is a leader in
the health care industry in developing and nurturing a culture of
safety at all its facilities. Patient safety managers at all 153
VA hospitals are leading efforts to reduce and eliminate harm.
Although the risk of cross contamination and exposure to these
infections is exceptionally low, our directive is to treat all
Veterans potentially affected, regardless of risk, and regardless
of cause.
Contact Us
If you believe you may be
affected or need additional information, please call the Special
Care Call center at 1-877-575-7256 (available, 24 hours a day,
seven days a week) or e-mail us at
Endoscopy Inquiry. When submitting e-mail inquiries, please
reference the facility you are inquiring about and annotate if you
are a member of the press. |
