Two veterans think they are the link to the VA and spread of HIV

This veteran contacted the lawyer dealing with the law suits against the VA. The kicker here is that there is another veteran also thinking he was the source. That makes two veterans suffering because they think they are to blame for this, but the truth is, the VA should have done a better job.

Nashville Vet Could Have Spread HIV
Man Says He Always Told Health Care Workers Of Virus
Reported By Nancy Amons

POSTED: 4:37 pm CDT July 28, 2009

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- A Nashville veteran who had a colonoscopy there says he feels a heavy burden knowing he could have spread HIV infection to others.

Yet, he said, his conscience is clear because he did all he could to warn the Veterans Administration about his status.

Ron Hereford said his lifestyle 20 years ago contributed to his contraction of HIV. But now he wonders if his HIV made other veterans sick.
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http://www.wsmv.com/health/20205835/detail.html

Nashville Veteran Says He Cannot Trust VA For Healthcare

Nashville Veteran Says He Cannot Trust VA For Healthcare
Cindy Carter
Walter McRae no longer trusts his government. "I feel like the government saying has turned their back on anybody that's in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam or anywhere else. They turned their back on them and they've let the veteran's down," McRae said.

The former Marine is upset because the Alvin C. York Medical Center in Murfreesboro is one of several VA hospitals under fire for exposing patients to dirty instruments.

McRae has relied on the Murfreesboro hospital for years to take care of his medical needs which included a colonoscopy. Then it was discovered that 10,000 veterans might have been exposed to HIV and other infections because equipment used for colonoscopies in Murfreesboro and other clinics wasn't property sterilized.

"They (Alvin C. York) sent me a letter stating what had taken place and they wanted me to come out and be tested," McRae said.

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VA patients hope for real answers on contamination at hospitals

If you are not a veteran, do you ever wonder how they don't get totally fed up with all they have to go thru after their service in the military is over? None of this is fair and it certainly isn't something any of us would ever want to put up with if we were them. The last few years, every time I hear a politician talk about how important our veterans are, I get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach because of reports like this.

VA patients hope for real answers
Congress to address contamination at hospitals
By Clay Carey THE TENNESSEAN • and Bill Theobald TENNESSEAN WASHINGTON BUREAU • June 15, 2009
Walter McRae wants to hear the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs tell him it is sorry.

He wants its highest-ranking officials to say they're doing something to make sure veterans who turn to the government for medical treatment aren't being exposed to dirty equipment, the way he may have been six years ago.

And he wants to know that those problems aren't going to make him sick someday.

McRae and other veterans may begin getting some answers Tuesday, when a congressional committee finds out what VA investigators have learned since the chilling discovery of problems with endoscopic exams at Murfreesboro's Alvin C. York Medical Center and other agency hospitals.
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VA patients hope for real answers

VA: 16 patients of problem clinics infected

Mar 27, 9:23 PM EDT


VA: 16 patients of problem clinics infected

By BILL POOVEY
Associated Press Writer

CHATANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) -- Viral infections, including hepatitis, have been found in 16 patients exposed to contaminated equipment at Veterans Affairs medical facilities, a department spokeswoman said Friday. So far, 10 colonoscopy patients from the VA medical center in Murfreesboro, Tenn., have tested positive for hepatitis, VA spokeswoman Katie Roberts told The Associated Press.

In a later e-mail, she reported six patients at the VA's ear, nose and throat clinic in Augusta, Ga, tested positive for unspecified viral infections.
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VA: 16 patients of problem clinics infected

Possible contamination at VA facilities sparks call for inquiry

Possible contamination at VA facilities sparks call for inquiry
Story Highlights
Contaminated colonoscopy gear may have exposed Florida veterans to hepatitis, HIV

Florida lawmakers seek inquiry, raise concerns about other facilities

VA sent letters to people who may have had colonoscopies May 2004 to this month

Officials say tubing was rinsed but not disinfected, call risk of infection minimal
From Jennifer Pifer Bixler, Elizabeth Cohen and Sabriya Rice
CNN

(CNN) -- Thousands of veterans in South Florida may have been exposed to hepatitis and HIV because of contaminated equipment after getting colonoscopies at the Miami Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, officials announced Monday.

Two Florida lawmakers are asking for an inspector general's inquiry.

"The VA is a model of the type of health care we provide our veterans, and when mistakes like this occur, it undermines the efficacy of the entire system," said Rep. Kendrick B. Meek, D-Florida, in a news release. Meek, along with Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, is requesting an official inquiry by the inspector general of the VA.

In a letter to retired Gen. Eric Shinseki, the secretary of Veterans Affairs, Nelson said he is also concerned about possible contaminated equipment at facilities in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and Augusta, Georgia.
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http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/24/florida.va.facilities/index.html