Staff Writer
About 1,200 veterans may have been exposed to infection when they were treated with improperly sterilized equipment at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center, the health system announced Monday. But Acting Chief of Staff John W. Brice stressed that the risk of actually being infected was "incredibly small."
Letters to those affected were being sent out Monday and today. They include instructions on how to make an appointment for a free screening. The letters are going to those who received an endoscopy in the ear, nose and throat clinic at the VA between Jan. 2, 2008, and Nov. 6.
The endoscopy equipment was sterilized with a disinfecting solution, but it was not the solution recommended by the equipment manufacturer, Dr. Brice said.
"They were disinfecting the scopes, just not using the approved agent," he said. "So we believe that the risk of any transmission of disease to be incredibly small, but it's our policy to be transparent on these things. And any time there's any conceivable adverse outcome, we want to be open with it and let everyone know."
The problem was discovered in November, and the VA launched an investigation, including consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to determine whether veterans were actually at risk, Dr. Brice said.
"It took a period of time for us to kind of get the truth together and figure out what was actually going on, what was the real risk," he said. "We wanted to have all of our information absolutely correct before we notified the patients."
Veterans will be screened for infections such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. It applies only to those who received the procedure in the ENT clinic; veterans who received an endoscopy in other parts of the health system are not at risk, Dr. Brice said.
"I honestly don't think there's any need to panic," he said. "I know this is going to scare people. It always does whenever you use the word HIV particularly, (or) hepatitis C, another thing that can scare people. But we want to make sure that nothing has happened to them. Patient safety is our primary goal in this. We just want to make sure we're doing the right thing."
Reach Tom Corwin at (706) 823-3213 or tom.corwin@augustachronicle.com.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
The Augusta VA has set up a nurse communication center to help speed up appointments and answer questions. Those affected may call (706) 731-7229 or, toll free, (888) 483-9674 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. After hours, call (800) 836-5561.
