VA Dentist May Have Infected 600 Veterans With HIV and Hepatitis---Not Fired

A dentist was not following regulations when he didn't dispose of equipment to ensure sterility. The dentist has not been fired, but is removed from patient care.
The VA said it would give medical care for anyone infected, and this particular VA has been investigated for other infections and for turning patients away.
So sad that this dentist isn't going to really pay for this, he could have ruined so many lives, and their loved ones.

The Tomah VA is investigating the dentist, who has not been fired but was removed from patient care. According to acting Medical Center Director Victoria Brahm, the dentist was using his own equipment for routine dental exams, then cleaning it and using it again. This violates VA rules, which require use of disposable equipment to ensure sterility.

“It was purposeful that he was violating VA regulations,” Brahm said at a news conference Tuesday. “During all of the orientation, he used all of our equipment. He used it appropriately, so it was very purposeful from what we found in our investigation that he knew exactly what he was doing, and preferred to use his own equipment against procedure.”

Read more here: www.mcclatchydc.com...=cpyA d

damn. i remember stories like this from the 80's.
people getting infected after going to the dentist. thought all that # was over

So instead of getting fired he gets promoted, if infected the wrong person with nothing to lose he may just get what he really deserves.
So much for the VA problem really getting fixed, looks like it got worse.

a reply to: TinySickTears

OH my, that is the first thing that came to mind, I have to see the OP date to make sure we were no back to the 80s, it is sad that this happen to the VA and to make things worst even in this time and age even our blood banks are not safe either.

a reply to: JHumm

This administration doesn't fire people for doing crap work.

This is ridiculous.

Trump needs to get this pick right, and Palin ain't it.

There has got to be some way to break the bureaucracy that allows things like this to go on while it takes years to hold people accountable, if ever.

originally posted by: IAMTAT
a reply to: JHumm

This administration doesn't fire people for doing crap work.

While the Obama administration owns this mess now after 8 years, the way these departments are set up they can't fire people. It's a gross autonomous cancer that kind of just operates on autopilot under a bloated bureaucracy.

It's the same way with Govt. employees. Firing someone takes close to 5 years in some cases. It's madness.

a reply to: seasonal

This is ghastly.

I have no idea what it is going to take to see veterans raised up to the point where they get care they need, at the moment they need it, care that works and is better than they could get anywhere else, but I will tell you one thing for a certainty. If the authorities who have control over who is hired and fired, and the authorities who have the power to punish those who, through obstinacy and foolishness fail those who have sacrificed the most for their countrymen, cannot even work out that keeping a person who has done such harm on is a bad idea, then something has to be very wrong in whatever administrative structure is involved.

The very moment this was known to have occurred, the individual should have been barred from practicing any kind of medical role, banned from clinics, dental surgeries, prevented from even becoming a toothbrush salesman, ever again, as long as they live, not to mention investigated to ensure that any criminal level of malpractice does not go unpunished.

Sweet Jesus. What a horrific mess

And another thing... Those veterans affected by this had damned well better get everything they need on a silver plate for as long as they live from here on out.

a reply to: seasonal



strange indeed... the VA dentist had their own personal equipment which was likely used in private practice


the VA dental program is very selective on who is allowed to get VA service...lets say it's about 1% of all Veterans


re: www.va.gov...



myself... I had a non-service connected disability so I had to use a public available dentist, with my paranoia I had to select a provider who was qualified to operate with those blue pills that sedate you... conscious sedation


re:
Conscious sedation for surgical procedures: MedlinePlus ...
medlineplus.gov › Medical Encyclopedia

Conscious sedation is a combination of medicines to help you relax (a sedative) and to block pain (an anesthetic) during a medical or dental procedure



expensive, very much so ---at least 15 years ago when I had my choppers fixed
fortunately I was reimbursed for some of the procedure

Almost willing to bet a dollar for doughnuts, he billed for new instruments for each patient.

a reply to: St Udio

It is a shame that these almost 600 people will be worried for the rest of their lives too. Never knowing if you have either of these illnesses all because the dentist was negligent.

I wonder if this was a money saving thing that he did or was he just not following regulations.

a reply to: seasonal

Not enough info in the article, but it seems to me that this is likely blown out of proportion. Most dentists have reusable stuff that gets autoclave sterilization between uses. Those little bags you see at the dentist are usually autoclave bags, not new packaging.

It may be VA policy to use disposable items, but it's not industry standard last I knew. This appears to be making a mountain out of a mole hill.

There are even some approved methods for sterilizing surgical staple guns and similar equipment that are used in highly invasive surgery.

a reply to: Ksihkehe

I bet if it was you that had "dirty" equiptmnt that was not disposed of according to regulations it would be a different story.

8 N.H. patients told surgical equipment may have exposed them to brain disease (after sterilization)
www.cbsnews.com...

The hospital determined that the same tools used on the patient were also used on eight others.

Officials have notified the eight people who had brain surgery during that time period, because the tiny, faulty proteins that cause the disease can survive standard sterilization. The disease has only been transmitted that way four times, never in the United States.

a reply to: seasonal

I think you missed the whole thrust of what I said. I said that autoclave sterilization is what most dentists do. It is completely safe. The article wasn't clear on if he used sterilized equipment that is designed for multiple uses as opposed to the VA policy of disposables or not. It said he used 'cleaned' equipment. If that means autoclaved equipment then this is a non-issue.

I have many many times had autoclaved equipment used on me after it was used in others and, since I educate myself about such things, I'm not worried about it at all. If he violated policy then they should fire him. If he used equipment that wasn't autoclaved then he should be prosecuted.

The point is that it sounds to me like the article is claiming these vets were potentially exposed to bloodbourne pathogens when it may not be the case. If they were not then they don't need the added stress of thinking they were. If the equipment was autoclaved they were not exposed.

a reply to: Ksihkehe

This is a story I read when it broke, and it was autoclave. I couldn't find the story I read but this is another one about the same incident. The original story had a neurosurgeon talk about the mad cow disease that the eight were exposed to. He said that the Jacobs disease (mad cow) makes the cells sticky and the autoclave does not clean (get hot enough) the brain surgery equipment well enough. Scary disease.

Regardless, there is a reason that the regulations are in place. Those people who were exposed are in for a ride. We have to go with what the story says, I hope we will hear more, but we usually don't.

I've been to the dentist many times in my life. I can tell you one thing, diseases can easily be spread in a dentist office. There is no way in hell they can clean the office between patients to stop it from happening. Stuff flies out of your mouth when they work on your teeth, you can see it. It is on the dentists sleeves, and all over in the air. If anyone thinks that their cleaning removes the threat, they are delusional. You have a chance of getting something anytime you go to the dentist. Someone with these diseases can cough on you and if there is any entry point you can also get them. Our immune system can take care of them most times, but chance plays a big part of it.

If I made you worried, don't be, there is risk in lots of things we do. The chance of getting diseases from a dentist office is not all that high, everything has to line up right for it to happen. But there is still a chance.

a reply to: seasonal

A dentist was not following regulations when he didn't dispose of equipment to ensure sterility.

This is called attempted murder plain and simple.

The dentist knew what he was doing and was to lazy to follow procedures, not surprised of no accountability.

Our government looks at veterans as disposable and here is your proof. If this happened from one of our HMO dentistry in the civilian population there would be heads on a platter and major lawsuits.

a reply to: rickymouse

True, there was a report I read a long time ago that said go early to allow time for the viral/bacteria load to die. But they also said that the lines for the water that they use to flush mouths can be contaminated. It takes a few patients to flush that system. What can you do?

a reply to: seasonal

That story dealing with brain tissue is different from dental equipment. The OP was dental equipment and that is safe for autoclaving.

a reply to: Informer1958

So you failed to read the whole thread and see what I posted?

a reply to: Ksihkehe

I think that the regulations are in place for a reason, and now that they were not followed, we get these types of problems.
If the dentist followed the regs, these people would be going on with their lives. But now it is all a mess.