Dayton VA Dental Clinic Malfeasance PART IV

The Medical Center Director wants us to beleive, after holding 1400 meetings with these people over the past 5 years,  he knew NOTHING! Yeah and I'm a white man, too! Do you believe that also?

Lawmakers urge investigation into oversight of VA dental clinic
By
DAYTON — Three Dayton area congressmen are calling for an investigation into the lack of oversight that allowed a dentist at a Dayton VA Medical Center clinic to violate medical standards for nearly two decades, potentially exposing hundreds of veterans to blood-borne pathogens.
On Wednesday, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio; and Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, sent a letter to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki, urging him to order a review of oversight practices at the Dayton VA.
“The fact that our veterans could have been exposed to infection, let alone over the past 18 years, without any intervention from supervisors at the Dayton VA is outrageous,” Turner said. “Secretary Shinseki must take steps towards righting this wrong.”
The VA has identified at least 535 former patients who may have been exposed to Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV.
The dentist allegedly did not change his latex gloves or sterilize tools when he saw new patients.
“We have promised the men and women of our armed forces that if they risk their lives to defend our country, we will provide them with the benefits they have earned, including high-quality medical care,” Brown said.
“It is shocking that over 500 veterans may have risked their lives, not only on the battlefield, but in the VA health system,” the senator said.
The lawmakers are also calling for the VA to provide them with copies of any internal investigations related to this incident. Those documents would be submitted to the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association Task Force to inform the community on the nature of the infractions.
Todd Sledge, communications officer for the VA Health Care System of Ohio, said former patients are being offered precautionary testing.
An employee raised concerns about infection control practices at the dental clinic while an internal VA panel was reviewing clinic operations in late July.
The dentist was immediately removed from clinic duties. He retired the second week of February, Sledge said.
Joanne Huist Smith, Staff Writer Updated 8:54 PM Wednesday, February 16, 2011