Thanks For Your Service Vets
Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2016 12:37 pm
1) A long-term mental health care facility in Brockton, Mass., neglected patients and let them languish for years without adequate attention or treatment. One veteran with a 100 percent service-connected psychiatric condition lived at the facility from 2005 to 2013, yet in all that time had only one psychiatric note written in his medical chart – in 2012, when he was first examined by a whistleblower.
A second veteran was admitted to the same facility in 2003 with “significant and chronic mental health issues,” yet his first comprehensive psychiatric evaluation did not happen until 2011, according to the report. “No medication assessments or modifications occurred until the 2011 consultation,” said the OSC.
2) Rampant problems with patient care existed at the Jackson, Miss., VA medical center – first revealed in September 2013 – that included “improper credentialing of providers, inadequate review of radiology images, unlawful prescriptions for narcotics, noncompliant pharmacy equipment used to compound chemotherapy drugs, and unsterile medical equipment,” according to the report. There were also chronic staffing shortages in the primary care unit. Administrators sought to hide the problem with a “ghost clinic” system in which veterans were scheduled for appointments in clinics with no assigned provider, “resulting in excessive wait times and veterans leaving the facility without receiving treatment,” according to the report.
3) In Montgomery, Ala., a health care provider specializing in diseases of the respiratory tract copied prior notes to represent current readings in over 1,200 patient records, “likely resulting in inaccurate patient health information being recorded,” the report said. The OSC, however, couldn’t determine whether this practice endangered the health of the patients.
4) A VA facility in Grand Junction, Colo., had elevated levels of Legionella bacteria in its drinking water. The bacteria can cause Legionnaires Disease, a potentially lethal pneumonia-type illness. Despite complaints, standard maintenance and cleaning procedures required to prevent bacterial growth were not performed.
5) There was subpar patient care at a VA facility in Little Rock, Ark., including one incident “when suction equipment was unavailable when it was needed to treat a veteran who later died” – although investigators failed to directly link the death and the inadequate treatment.
6) In San Juan, Puerto Rico, “nursing staff neglected elderly residents by failing to assist with essential daily activities such as bathing, eating, and drinking.”
7) Health care professionals at a VA facility in Buffalo, N.Y., did not always comply with sterilization standards for wearing personal protective equipment. The workers occasionally failed to place indicator strips in surgical trays and mislabeled sterile instruments.
thefinancialtimes.com
A second veteran was admitted to the same facility in 2003 with “significant and chronic mental health issues,” yet his first comprehensive psychiatric evaluation did not happen until 2011, according to the report. “No medication assessments or modifications occurred until the 2011 consultation,” said the OSC.
2) Rampant problems with patient care existed at the Jackson, Miss., VA medical center – first revealed in September 2013 – that included “improper credentialing of providers, inadequate review of radiology images, unlawful prescriptions for narcotics, noncompliant pharmacy equipment used to compound chemotherapy drugs, and unsterile medical equipment,” according to the report. There were also chronic staffing shortages in the primary care unit. Administrators sought to hide the problem with a “ghost clinic” system in which veterans were scheduled for appointments in clinics with no assigned provider, “resulting in excessive wait times and veterans leaving the facility without receiving treatment,” according to the report.
3) In Montgomery, Ala., a health care provider specializing in diseases of the respiratory tract copied prior notes to represent current readings in over 1,200 patient records, “likely resulting in inaccurate patient health information being recorded,” the report said. The OSC, however, couldn’t determine whether this practice endangered the health of the patients.
4) A VA facility in Grand Junction, Colo., had elevated levels of Legionella bacteria in its drinking water. The bacteria can cause Legionnaires Disease, a potentially lethal pneumonia-type illness. Despite complaints, standard maintenance and cleaning procedures required to prevent bacterial growth were not performed.
5) There was subpar patient care at a VA facility in Little Rock, Ark., including one incident “when suction equipment was unavailable when it was needed to treat a veteran who later died” – although investigators failed to directly link the death and the inadequate treatment.
6) In San Juan, Puerto Rico, “nursing staff neglected elderly residents by failing to assist with essential daily activities such as bathing, eating, and drinking.”
7) Health care professionals at a VA facility in Buffalo, N.Y., did not always comply with sterilization standards for wearing personal protective equipment. The workers occasionally failed to place indicator strips in surgical trays and mislabeled sterile instruments.
thefinancialtimes.com