Posted on 12/01/2016 10:28:59 AM PST by SeekAndFind
For years veterans across the country have languished in VA hospitals, with thousands dying waiting for care. Suicide hotlines go unanswered and at least one hospital in Illinois, dead bodies were left in the morgue for months. Other hospitals are filled with black mold and roaches. Since the VA scandal broke two years ago, wait times haven't improved. At some hospitals wait times are now double what they were in 2014.
But it gets worse. According to a local news report from WEAU News 13, as many as 600 veterans may have been infected with life threatening, lethal and incurable diseases due to a lack of following basic health protocol at a Wisconsin VA hospital. Adding insult to injury, the allegedly responsible dentist wasn't fired but instead moved to an overpaid, administrative desk job where he likely continued to pay little care to veterans needing help.
The Tomah VA says it's in the process of notifying 592 veterans that they may be infected with Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, or HIV after they received care from one particular dental provider.
Acting Medical Center Director Victoria Brahm said the dentist was using his own equipment, then cleaning it and reusing it, which violates the VA's regulations.
The Tomah VA says it uses sterile and disposable equipment.
The VA says he did this for one year, from October 2015 through October 2016.
It came to light when someone filling in for his assistant noticed what was going on and reported it.
That dentist has been removed from patient care and is now working in an administrative role.
The VA also referred the case to the inspector general for assessment of any criminal charges.
"It was purposeful that he was violating VA regulations," Brahm said. "During all of the orientation, he used all of our equipment. He used it appropriately, so it was very purposeful from what we found in our investigation that he knew exactly what he was doing, and preferred to use his own equipment against procedure."
This horrifying story is just another example of a lack of accountability plaguing the VA system and the consequences are lethal. How did this guy get through 592 patients before someone said anything? And why the hell was he shifted to a desk job instead of immediately fired and investigated for putting people's lives at risk?
President-elect Donald Trump is currently vetting candidates for VA Secretary. Army veteran Pete Hegseth, who has been a VA reform advocate for years, is on his short list.
Hepatitus and HIV... Gee, I wonder if he is a religiously “gay dental activist” out for revenge on straight vets?
Former Army Surgeon General LTG Patti Horoho, (Ret) is the one who saved Walter Reed.
She also would be very good.
I have some bones to pick with jimnm with regard to how he thinks the VA should be run.
First of all autoclaves do NOT SANITIZE anything. They STERILIZE solids, liquids, hollows, and instruments of various shapes. They do not sterilize most plastics as autoclaves operate at very high temperatures (270 F) due to the much higher pressures they achieve. They might not deactivate prions but virtually any other organism dies or is deactivated in an autoclave properly run.
I do think every medical provider ought to be mandated to update certificationsq 2 y-3 yrs, have a yearly record of continuing education. Too much drift currently in the VA medical provider group. Too many mistakes by all groups. There should be none in my opinion.
I am very grateful for the care I have gotten for years at the VA. My care is complex and between my providers and me, we have achieved miracles. I think you should be careful about what you say about who should receive care. Unless you ask, ou just don’t know why anyone is receiving care. WE don’t just fall like apples from a tree into the lap of VA care.
Well played, sir! [tips cap]
I dont think she has aleg to stand on in this one
Socialized health “care” is always evil-—will always be evil.
It is *not* free for all veterans. I am a veteran. I went to the VA ... and paid for my care because I don’t belong in the civilian pop.. I have more in common w my brothers n sisters in arms than anyone else. I stopped going because they started staffing w foreigners, and not paying US taxes on those employees.. hypocritical to say the least. Not to mention, the international education is not up to my standards. I have been in healthcare for decades... so I know who I can trust to be highly skilled and competent.
The name Kimberly Bergalis comes to mind. I don’t know if that’s the right name, exactly, but I remember the homosexual dentist intentionally infecting this young lady with HIV. He did it because he felt that AIDS would be ignored as long as it stayed in the homosexual community - so, as a great and moral activist for homosexuals, he infected a young girl to bring attention to the AIDS issue.
The VA needs to be shuttered permanently and it’s care facilities turned over to the civilian HC system. The vets should have excellent government-paid HC insurance and be able II use as they see fit.
Was this HIS HIV?
Queer dentists in the military.
Do Ask...Do Tell!
Hepatitus and HIV... Gee, I wonder if he is a religiously “gay dental activist” out for revenge on straight vets?
Never mind "homophobic"...what's wrong with "hepatophobic"?
not necessarily. there are multiple ways to contract it.
This is exactly the sort of mindset of which I was thinking. Homosexuals have done exactly this sort of thing many times previously. To use unsterilized instruments could only have been done intentionally. I doubt there is anyone who works in the medical industry that does not know that unsterilized instruments can cause infections.
The assistant had to know it was wrong as well, seeing as fill-in assistant noticed it right away and reported. Thank goodness.
Close the VA— Give the vets Medicare . Very simple. They get their own doctor. Give is to them on honorable discharge. If the are certified as combat vets by commanding office , they pay no monthly medicare premium. They buy their own supplements like the rest over 65.
Take the va infrastructure. Move it to HHS and use it for public option for the poor and preexisting condition. everyone else we go back to where we were except a company can sell across state lines or not depending on how they asses that risk pool. There is the ER for illegal aliens and people that don’t want anything— you choose.
Yes, this story does not pass the smell test. Something was going on here of which we still do not have the whole truth.
I'm still betting homosexuality is involved somehow. I wonder if the assistant was a homosexual male.
I agree with you - there’s no way this was not done intentionally. Perfect scenario - the dentist AND assistant involved, both homosexual activists, is plausible.
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