More than 3,000 who had colonoscopies at VA hospital told to get HIV tests

MIAMI - Officials say more than 3,000 patients at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Miami had colonoscopies with equipment that wasn’t properly sterilized

They’ve been told they should be tested for HIV and other diseases.

The VA insists the risk of infection is minimal and only involved tubing on equipment, not any device that actually touched a patient. But it’s the second recent announcement of errors during colonoscopies at VA facilities.

Last month, more than 6,000 patients at a clinic in Tennessee were told they may have been exposed to infectious body fluids during colonoscopies.

The VA also said 1,800 veterans treated at an ear, nose and throat clinic in Augusta, Ga., were alerted they could have been exposed to an infection due to improper disinfection of an instrument.

SOURCE:
Unsterile equipment used on Miami veterans

This is nothing less than a travesty. Our veterans have given this nation everything they have, their health, their sanity, their arms, legs, eyes, they have given us everything they have to give, they answered the call. This is how WE take care of THEM?

We had documented cases of veteran neglect during the Bush administration, and we were led to believe that those problems were being fully addressed and dealt with. I have been hammering on this for a long time now, this was one of the stories I posted, Gov’t Struggles to Cope With Wounded GIs. The government has a responsibility to COPE with these warriors, these guys have earned the very best of care and nothing less, but what do they get? VA links poor care to 19 deaths at Ill. hospital.

About a year ago I went off on this tale of woe:

Maybe it wasn’t a deliberate attempt, maybe it’s all been just a terrible coincidence, maybe some of the deplorable conditions at some VA hospitals, conditions that have been documented, maybe that was just administrative oversight, the VA has their mission definition, and the utmost care of our Vets is their #1 priority, right?? VA lying about number of veteran suicides

Some folks think the V.A. has kept things secret, and I have to wonder, just what exactly are they not telling, and why, all of a sudden, is this unsterile equipment and threats of exposure to infected bodily fluids something our veterans have to suddenly worry about?

Recently this was proposed: Obama to Bill Combat Wounded for Medical Care. Now if that is not the pinnacle of audacity, I don’t know what is. Supposedly Obama got the message and this moonbat idea was filed away, for presentation at a later date no doubt!

I know that this nation is in a really bad place when it comes to money and having any to spend, the Wall Street guys, the car companies and not to forget, AIG, must ALL be saved, but the health and well-being of our veterans can’t be one of the items on the chopping block used to render up a few extra dollars to bail out crooked or inept businessmen. In many instances, our veterans, these fantastic men and women that have given this nation SO much, have nowhere else to turn other than the V.A., they need to know that the V.A. will be there FOR them, to HELP them, not to KILL them!

Army leaders defend supervision of soldier care unit

LAWTON, Okla. — Mold infests the barracks that were set up here a year ago for wounded soldiers after poor conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center triggered a systemwide overhaul, soldiers say.

Twenty soldiers, who spoke to USA TODAY early last week, said their complaints about mold and other problems went unheeded for months. They also said they had been ordered not speak about the conditions at Fort Sill.

Officers at the Army base last week ordered that ventilation ducts in two barracks be replaced and soldiers be surveyed, anonymously if they wished, about any concerns. Maj. Gen. Peter Vangjel, the commanding officer, said it was “inappropriate” for soldiers to be ordered not to talk about the mold.

“We’re going in and we’re going to take care of this for these guys,” he said over the weekend.

Full Story Here:
Soldiers: Mold infests Okla. barracks for wounded

LAWTON, Okla. — Staff Sgt. Michael Riley plans to leave the Army later this month on a medical discharge. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder along with back and brain injuries from blasts in Iraq. And he’s angry about the care he received at Fort Sill’s program for wounded soldiers here.

Riley is among 20 soldiers who complained to USA TODAY last week about mold in the barracks, delays in processing medical cases and morale in the Warrior Transition Unit (WTU) for wounded and injured outpatients at Fort Sill, an artillery training installation. While leaders of the unit are addressing the mold issues, they defended the unit’s supervision and morale.

After problems surfaced last year at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., the Army established a WTU at each of 35 installations. Soldiers assigned to these units receive specialized care. They are assigned a squad leader, nurse case manager and doctor to care for them, and usher them to return to duty or medical retirement. “Those three people are with this soldier from start to finish … (to ensure) that the soldier can get through the system without having to fight,” Gen. Michael Tucker said in announcing the program last year. “The soldier’s mission is to heal.”

But as the number of soldiers in the program doubled from 6,000 to 12,000 by June, individual care slipped, congressional investigators found. In July, Army leaders told Congress they were struggling to improve the program. “It takes time to kill bureaucracies,” Lt. Gen. Michael Rochelle said.

Full Story Here:
Army leaders defend supervision of soldier care unit

We spend BILLIONS of U.S. taxpayer dollars to finance the Iraqi government in their CIVIL WAR, but we won’t spend the necessary money to properly care for the troops that we send into harms way to carry out the actions and wishes of our President.

I wrote a piece a while back called A matter of Inconvenient Hypocrisy, and in it I pointed out the hypocrisy that I feel is shown by so many sites that support Bush, and ANY decision he makes, sites that declare their undying love of George W. Bush and the troops, sites that declare they are 100% in support of the troops and the wars we fight. Unequivocal support.

Yet in that support they never, or at most, rarely, address issues such as this. Why does it take having the MSM get involved to get anything done for the troops?

A matter of Inconvenient Hypocrisy? Or blind Bush Bot devotion? Either way, I am NOT drinking that Kool Aid. You either support the troops, AND their after-action care, 100%, or you’re a hypocrite that’s waving the flag in an effort to impress a few weak minded readers.