|
VA Watchdog Stuff...
cups, hats, shirts...
click on item to order
and support the site.
Be sure to get all four
VA Watchdog dot Org
RSS feeds --
Daily VA
News Flashes
House CVA
Veterans' News
Senate CVA
Veterans' News
VA Press
Releases
Download your
free copy of the
2008 VA benefits
handbook here...
|
Printer-Friendly Version
UPDATE: SECRETARY PEAKE APOLOGIZES TO JIM
FITZGERALD'S WIDOW, SORT OF -- "I can only
apologize
that Aimee Fitzgerald perceived a sense of
callousness
or a sense that there were some additional
diagnostic or
other measures to be offered as she sought
answers to
unanswerable questions about her ailing husband."
The story about Jim Fitzgerald's death is here
...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfAU
G08/nf082308-4.htm
Today, we have two pieces of information... first
is a news story... second is Secretary Peake's letter to the editor
explaining the situation.
News story here
...
http://washingto
ntimes.com/news/2008/aug/26/va-ch
ief-offers-family-apology/
Story below:
NOTE: If you wish to post a comment,
go to the end of the story and use our new "Comment"
feature.
-------------------------
VA chief offers family apology
Audrey Hudson
The secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs has apologized to the
family of an Army veteran who died last year after being turned away from
a Bronx VA hospital after he refused to participate in an Alzheimer's
disease study.
Joe Fitzgerald, 74, died of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease - the human form of
mad cow disease - less than a month after being dismissed without
diagnosis or treatment at James J. Peters VA Medical Center, The
Washington Times reported Friday.
His widow, Aimee Fitzgerald, has demanded answers from the VA as to
whether human research testing is taking a priority over the health care
of veterans after the agency responded that the Alzheimer's study was a
"mandate."
 "I
can only apologize that Mrs. Fitzgerald perceived a sense of callousness,
or a sense that there was some additional diagnostic or other measures to
be offered," Veterans Affairs Secretary James B. Peake said in a letter to
the editor at The Times. "It will renew our emphasis to VA staff about
sensitivity in communicating."
The VA has come under scrutiny and criticism over its human-subject
experiments since a Washington Times/ABC News investigation revealed in
July that the agency had failed to quickly notify participants in a
smoking-cessation study about the potentially dangerous side effects of a
drug some participants were taking.
A recent investigation of experiments conducted at an Arkansas veterans
hospital uncovered rampant violations, including missing consent forms,
secret HIV testing and failure to report more than 100 deaths of subjects
participating in studies.
Mr. Fitzgerald sought treatment for his sudden loss of motor skills at the
Bronx VA hospital when his attending physician, Dr. Ruth Walker, said that
enrolling in the Alzheimer's study would enable a quicker diagnosis of his
disease, Mrs. Fitzgerald said.
Dr. Walker introduced the family to Dr. Christine Bergmann, who headed the
Alzheimer's study. VA officials said Dr. Bergmann did not have the
authority to offer a diagnosis.
"I can only apologize for the family's perception in this tragic case and
to let them know that it will serve as a system-wide reminder about the
importance of clear and compassionate communication," Mr. Peake said in
his letter to the editor.
The Times also reported that Arthur Caplan, one of the nation's premier
medical ethicists and director of the Center for Bioethics at the
University of Pennsylvania, said the first obligation of any caregiver is
to treat the patient.
In his letter, Mr. Peake - a physician himself - said he and his agency
"completely share Mr. Caplan's view."
-------------------------
Peake's letter here...
http://washingtontime
s.com/news/2008/aug/26/care-over-research/
Letter below:
-------------------------
LETTER TO EDTOR: Care over research
I, and every reader, can feel the pain and anguish of the family
chronicled in The Times article "Hospital released vet who refused study"
(Page 1, Friday). The disease mentioned, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, is
devastating, unremitting and, as yet, without cure.
It is also difficult to sort out from other diseases with similar
symptoms. Medicine does not know why it progresses more quickly in some
people than in others. It is for these reasons that medical research is
done - to understand better how to improve the chances of the next veteran
who has such a problem.
In this case, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study in which the
Department of Veterans Affairs partnered with Mount Sinai Hospital, a
world renowned academic medical center, was offered to the patient. The
study was designed, as noted, to observe and to learn more about
"conditions affecting memory or thinking, including Alzheimer's disease
and related disorders." The research was to study the progression of
disease, not to offer an experimental treatment. The study's consent form
even states that "this study is not designed to benefit participants."
I can only apologize that Aimee Fitzgerald perceived a sense of
callousness or a sense that there were some additional diagnostic or other
measures to be offered as she sought answers to unanswerable questions
about her ailing husband, Joe. It will renew our emphasis to VA staff
about sensitivity in communicating. I and the VA completely share the view
of bioethicist Arthur Caplan that the goal of the medical encounter must
be first and foremost to provide the latest and best care when care is
available, that research must take a secondary role to receiving patient
care and that no one should be penalized for failing to volunteer for a
study, ever.
It is the VA's policy - clearly stated in our regulations, directives,
patient literature and the protocol consent form - that a patient has a
right to say no to participating in a research study and that decision
will not affect the VA health care or benefits the patient receives.
In serving our veterans, we have an absolute obligation to provide not
only the highest quality care and to provide that care with attention and
compassion, but to find better ways to care for our patients through
research with the highest scientific and ethical standards. It is what we
strive for every single day across our system. I can only apologize for
the family's perception in this tragic case and to let them know that it
will serve as a systemwide reminder about the importance of clear and
compassionate communication.
DR. JAMES B. PEAKE
Secretary of veterans affairs
Washington
-------------------------
TIPS FOR POSTING:
Comments should be about the story on this page. Respect others who
have posted. If you have a question for VA Watchdog...
go here...
-------------------------
posted by Larry
Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
Don't forget to read all of today's VA
News Flashes (click here)
Click here to make VA Watchdog dot Org your homepage
email Larry
(go
back to VA Watchdog dot Org Home Page) |
Military
Medical Malpractice
Legal
Network
VA Watchdog Stuff...
cups, hats, shirts...
click on item to order
and support the site.
|
