The Congressional hearing in St. Louis about dental equipment sterilization problems at the John Cochran VA Hospital is a vindication of sorts for Earlene Johnson.
Unfortunately, it took the potential exposure of 1,812 disabled veterans to Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV to bring the issue to light.
On Tuesday Johnson told House members she was fired from her job at Cochran for speaking up about improvements needed in sterile processing.
“You find at John Cochran when you open your mouth about something, you are either retaliated on, targeted, or you are just praying that the next day you walk in you have a job,” said Johnson, a former employee in the sterile processing department.
“If people took their jobs seriously, not passing the buck and pointing the finger, none of this would have happened.”
A congressman suggested Johnson file a complaint under the Whistleblower Protection Act. Johnson, who has a pending EEO case, said she did not consider herself a whistleblower – she was just doing what needed to be done for the veterans, including some of her own family members.
“I tried to warn people in Washington. I couldn’t get through. I knew something was going to happen at John Cochran, and I didn’t give up even when they terminated me,” she said.
The hearing, held Tuesday afternoon at the Thomas Eagleton Federal Courthouse, was attended by a packed audience of veterans and family members.
The VA says the improper pre-washing of dental equipment at Cochran took place from February 2009 until March 2010, when it was discovered during a routine inspection. It was almost four months after the VA discovered the problem at the end of June, when it sent out form letters to veterans stating that they may have been exposed to potentially deadly viruses.
A VA physician Dr. George Arana said 950 veterans – only about half of those potentially affected – have been tested thus far. Of those tested, Arana said 826 were negative on all three diseases. U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan (D–MO) said the other 124 will be notified by the end of the week.
‘Low-level’ HIV?
After he got over the shock from the enormity of what was in his certified letter about the disaster, Anthony Crayton called the 800-number listed, and waited for a return call.
“She called back about two hours later, went into the spiel that I was one of the patients who could have been exposed to Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and ‘low-level HIV.’ I told her there was no such thing as ‘low-level’ HIV,” Crayton said.
“She also asked if I had anybody at home who could explain what she was talking about and I told her I was well-educated and I can comprehend very well.”
After insulting Crayton’s intelligence, he said the woman talked to him about safe sex.
“She said you will have to abstain from sex for three weeks and if you want, we’ll send you out three rubbers,” Crayton said.
When he went to the Jefferson Barracks VA facility the next day for blood testing, he said JB was inundated with disabled veterans with oxygen tanks, in wheel chairs, and elderly vets from the Korean War and World War II – all lined up to get tested.
Some vets who were possibly exposed during dental treatment at Cochran went to JB for testing.
“They were caught off-guard – had run out of the tubes to draw the blood,” Crayton said.
Veterans have to be considered 100-percent disabled to be eligible for dental benefits at VA hospitals.
At the hearing, committee chairman U.S. Rep. Bob Filner of California made VA officials listen to testimony from affected veterans before getting a chance to speak. Robert Petzel, undersecretary for health at the VA, was blasted by committee members, as was the entire VA contingent present, for their apparent lack of empathy and compassion.
Other VA representatives at the hearing were Dr. Arana; RimaAnn Nelson, acting director of Cochran; and Dr. Andrea Buck, national director of medicine for the VA.
“What happened at the VA is inexcusable and unacceptable,” Petzel eventually said, after he was asked to put down his printed remarks to go “off script” and address the situation before them.
“Initially I thought it was just going to be a dog and pony show, but after they ripped into the VA, I think that something good is going to come out of it,” said Crayton. “I feel that John Cochran is going to be squeaky clean. They can’t go back to business as usual.”
After similar problems that put veterans’ health and safety at risk recently at VA hospitals in Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and in Marian, Illinois, committee members say it points to a lack of accountability and systemic failure throughout the VA.
“The problem that I have is that every time that we have a hearing on one of these incidents, VA comes forward and says, ‘We’re putting in new procedures and new controls – it’s not going to happen again,’” said U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller of Florida.
“But it happens again and again and again.”
“How many veterans have to die before the VA gets it right?” said U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello of Illinois.
“After serving our country, this is not the fight our veterans should face,” said U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan of Missouri, who demanded answers and action. “They deserve answers to this dental debacle.”
Meanwhile, Crayton and many others are waiting for their test results.
At the hearing, the question also came up about treatment of spouses. Petzel said they would offer counseling, but after some prodding, the VA agreed to assign knowledgeable persons to each of the veterans to assist them through the process.
Filner said the committee will reconvene in the next five or six months to see if the VA has made any improvements, including safeguards for employees like Earlene Johnson to report problems without fear of retaliation.
