In response to Congressman Turner’s March letter requesting a House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing examining medical safety practices at VA medical facilities, the Committee has announced it will conduct an oversight hearing entitled, “Sacred Obligation: Restoring Veteran Trust and Patient Safety.”
In response to Congressman Turner’s March letter requesting a House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing examining medical safety practices at VA medical facilities, the Committee has announced it will conduct an oversight hearing entitled, “Sacred Obligation: Restoring Veteran Trust and Patient Safety.” The hearing, which will be conducted on Tuesday, May 3, 2011, at 10:30 A.M. in room 334 of the Cannon House Office Building, will review several recent patient safety incidents - including those in Dayton, Ohio; St. Louis, Missouri; and Miami, Florida.“I look forward to this hearing, which will address the issues of broken promises to our veterans, and the extreme violations of basic safety procedures that have occurred at the Dayton VA Medical Center,” said Turner.
The Committee intends to discuss the VA’s response to recent incidents across the nation and developing proactive strategies for addressing underlying issues including:
- Standardized reprocessing for reusable medical equipment.
- Systematic ways of limiting the activities of suspect practitioners before patients are put at risk.
- Risk management and notification processes for veteran patients.
“Our veterans deserve the best care possible. This hearing will examine ways we can improve the VA, and begin to address the breakdown in the VA system which allowed the gross violation of standard medical procedures and practices to continue for at least 18 years,” added Turner.