VA Hospital May Have Infected 1,800 Veterans, Congressman Calls for Probe

I don't understand. It says that "technicians broke protocol by washing tools by hand before putting them into the machine". Did they mean INSTEAD of putting them into the machine? It doesn't seem like washing something by hand before putting it into an autoclaver or other sterilizing machine would have any effect on it. Certainly nothing detrimental. If it is still being placed in the machine, then the tool would still be undergoing the sterilizing properties of the machine just as if nothing had been done prior to that. There is more to this story. Did anyone else get this?

Why was washing by hand allowed to continue for a year and a half if they knew about it? This is unconscienable.

This is an example of how easy it is for these doctors and techs to slip through the system. One very important medical rule I learned in the military...'if a doctor is even worth the paper his degree is written on, he will do the time allotted to pay off whatever schooling the military paid for and will leave and hang his shingle in the civilian world. Those are the ones you request when you report to sick call. Now, those at the VA...it's a crap shoot. This is not indicative of government run healthcare works. It doesn't even come close becasue, in essence, our elected leaders fall under the government run healthcare system and THEY have the best care in the world. Think about it. It is a tell as to how much our society respects those that put their lives on the line. The VA hospitals have been broken for decades and this is not the first time an incident like this has happened.

My father died in a VA Hospital. He was there over 2 years. During that time, I observed many things. A lot of what I observed made me more vigilant for my father's care. I realized that if a patient did not have an advocate, they didn't last long.
When he died, it was from pneumonia after I found him being tube-fed flat on his back. I wasn't surprised that they called me to tell me about the pneumonia .. the next day. It was that day, I told them, "You have finally succeeded in killing him."
I don't have much respect for many of the doctors at military and VA hospitals. I heard a bunch making fun of "mesothelioma" in the elevator. I almost tore them a new one.
I grew up going to military hospitals. The one in Hawaii is called Tripler.. we called it "Crippler". The one in Columbia, SC is called Moncrief.. we called it "More Grief". When I got to SC, I got sick. My mother took me out to the Army hospital for 3 week until she got fed up and took me to a private physician who diagnosed me with walking pneumonia within 20 minutes.
I will not say all the doctors at military hospitals are incompetent, but I have met many.. personally... who the shoe fits.

I hope everyone involved,"with the washing of the tools by hand", is terminated. I'm almost certain they didn't learn that in dental tech school. Give those jobs to people who have just a little bit more common sense.

Close the VA hospitals and let the local hospitals handle VA patients. That would save taxpayer $ just like the conservatives are screaming for. Everyone knows government run facilities are inefficient. So close them all! Ask your conservative legislator or tea party candidate if they are sincere about tax cutting even if it includes closing VA hospitals. If they dodge the question, then you'll know they are a fraud.

If anyone thinks that our vets get good care, they've never been to a military hospital or have to deal with one of their doctors!! Now, they do have some really good doctors, but that's not the norm! I have to admit though the media sure can make the hospitals & doctors look good on TV!!!

THAT IS NOT THE ONLY VA HOSPITAL, THE WASHING OF HANDS IS NOT WELL PRACTICED.STAPH INFECTIONS ARE COMMON. I TALK FROM EXPERIENCE, MY HUSBAND DIED FROM A STAPH INFECTION. WHEN I ASKED FOR HIS MEDICAL PAPERS WHAT I RECEIVED WAS WHITE OUT AREAS. I DECIDED NOT TO BE BOTHERED , TO TAKE IT TO COURT. OUR DAUGHTER WAS MORE IMPORTANT AND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ENDLESS THE TIME CONSUMED. I HOPE THEY START LOOKING INTO THESE HOSPITALS AND THEIR STAFF , SOME CARE SOME DO NOT.