At a hearing in downtown St. Louis, a VA doctor told members of Congress that 950 veterans who were patients at the John Cochran dental clinic at the St. Louis VA Hospital have been tested for exposure to Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV. Of those tested, Dr. George Arana said 826 were negative on all three diseases – they are apparently awaiting word on the other 124.
At the end of June, the VA sent form letters to veterans stating a routine inspection revealed they may have been exposed to the potentially deadly blood-borne diseases due to improper sterilization methods at the dental clinic at the John Cochran VA Medical Center.
The hearing was convened at the Thomas Eagleton federal courthouse Tuesday afternoon at the urging of Congressman Russ Carnahan, and was attended by a packed audience of veterans, surviving spouses and family members.
Members of the Missouri and southern Illinois delegation joined committee members to hear testimony from veterans who have been treated at the Cochran dental clinic; senior administration at Cochran and the national Veteran’s Health Administration, and a representative of the American Legion.
House Veteran’s Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner of California blasted representatives from the VA for how they have handled the entire situation, including the form letter used to notify veterans and delays in revealing the problem after it was discovered; and an apparent lack of empathy and compassion for the veterans giving testimony at the hearing.
After some heated prodding, Robert Petzel, under secretary for health at the Veterans Health Administration, promised to get the bottom of the problems within the VA and to make changes.
Filner said he will come back in six months to see if the VA has made any improvements to how it cares for veterans.
Cong. Carnahan said the other 124 veterans will be notified of their results by the end of the week.