The three lawmakers requested the VA Secretary to “order a review of all VA Medical Facility oversight policies and procedures to ensure that veterans are receiving the quality of care that they deserve and which had been promised to them.”
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Senator Sherrod Brown, Senator Rob Portman, and Congressman Mike Turner wrote to Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) Eric Shinseki, urging him to investigate the lack of oversight that allegedly allowed a practitioner at the Dayton VA Medical Center’s dental clinic to violate medical standards of practice over a period of 18 years. According to reports, the alleged actions potentially exposed hundreds of veterans to blood-borne pathogens.

In the letter, the three lawmakers requested the VA Secretary to “order a review of all VA Medical Facility oversight policies and procedures to ensure that veterans are receiving the quality of care that they deserve and which had been promised to them.” Further, the letter requests that a National level Administrative Investigation Board (AIB) reinvestigate the Dayton Medical Facility. “In doing so, the VA will restore the confidence of its patients and prevent similar events from occurring at other facilities,” Brown, Portman, and Turner write.

Lastly, the letter requests that the VA provide copies of the System-wide Ongoing Assessment Review Strategy (SOARS) investigations along with any other internal investigations surrounding the incident. The two Ohio Senators and Dayton Congressman plan to submit these investigations to the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association (GDAHA) Task Force in order to inform the community on the nature of the infractions. “We also hope to use this information in our efforts to work with the Dayton VA Medical Center to strengthen healthcare for veterans in the Miami Valley region,” they added.