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.
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"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."
------ Yep, and right after consulting the lawyers that every hospital has on retainer. Lord help us if we had something even worse happen, while some 3 month long investigation snail paced along. That Kentucky VA hospital and it's open-door policy on malpractice and other hospital SNAFUs need to be adopted, instead. Sometimes you do things not to CYA, you do it for the right reasons (and surprise, surprise, surprise, less lawsuits -- funny how a sincere apology can do so much more, and save so many misery, huh?).
the charlie norwood medical center is one of the finest hospitals in the united states. it is run efficiently with cleanliness a big factor in all they do. and the fact they reported it shows how concerned they are for their patients. i'll take an apology any day versus keeping it hidden from the public, which happens in many public hospitals. the va medical center in buffalo, ny is run the same way. very, very professional. if have a chance, visit the center and you be the judge just how clean it is. mistakes will always happen and in this case, the chance of anyone getting an infection is nil. GOD bless the VA hospital in Augusta and all the VA hospitals throughout the U.S. and the world. You are doing a wonderful job taking care of some very important people on this earth, THE VETERAN. peace and love, tom
You wouldn't be too happy with an apology if you were infected with HIV, Hep A or Hep B. This is inexcusable. Hep B is very easily transmitted and kills far more people than AIDS. Seabiscuit, no one deserves to go to a VA hospital and contract a deadly disease due to improper sterilization procedures. Do you work for the VA or something?
And like AIDS, Hepatitis is a lifelong condition that will flareup like Malaria at odd times in patient lives. Some it's almost non-existent, others an infection is so devastating a liver transplant is needed to even survive. It took too long to report this, because timely reports are needed for national security, as contagions we'll be facing (like "Bird Flu") if not reported quickly, can not only spread to more people, kill many within ***10 days***. Epidemics like the 1918 Spanish Flu, killed people in 18hrs upon infection. It's not the time for PR and lawyers, it's the time for a timely report to affected patients so they can monitor their own condition. It's their lives at stake after all.
So How Long do you think it took the Surgery Center to notify patients? I'm amazed by the ignorance displayed in some of the reader comments above. Any process that depends on people to do the right thing, is at risk.
The Evans Surgery Center sent out letters this week to warn patients of a possible infection. The center is notifying about 1,300 patients who underwent gastrointestinal procedures with endoscopes that might not have been properly sanitized, according to the letter dated Tuesday.
During a recent quality review of the medical facility on Ronald Reagan Drive, it was discovered that staff failed to follow a manufacturer’s recommendation to sanitize the endoscope for at least five minutes.
Following discussions with “leading authorities in infectious diseases,” according to the letter, “the risk of disease transmission is near zero.”
However, the Center is offering free testing at any LabCorp location “to confirm that no infection was transmitted.”