To date there are more than 10,000 veterans who have been concerned for months about the possibility that they were exposed to HIV and other infections diseases. A congressional panel is pressing the Department of Veterans Affairs to disclose whether non-sterile equipment that may have exposed veterans to infections was isolated to three Southeast hospitals or is part of a wider problem.
The VA advised thousands of patients to get blood tests after it discovered that valves on colonoscopy tubes used at the Murfreesboro hospital weren’t working correctly, possibly exposing patients to other people’s bodily fluids. Since then, at least 28 patients have tested positive for hepatitis or HIV.
In the end, even though the Tennessee Valley Healthcare system believed the occurrence was isolated, all patients who received colonoscopies at York campus between April 23, 2003, and Dec. 1, 2008, were notified to come in for precautionary testing.
A congressional panel is demanding that the department release the full inspector general report. Increased safety measures have been taken at 153 medical centers nationwide.
Thirteen VA officials are scheduled to testify Tuesday, including Juan Morales, director of the Tennessee Valley Healthcare System.
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