The VA hospitals in Tomah, Wisconsin and Martinsburg, West Virginia have serious problems that VAOIG says must be corrected.

by Larry Scott, VA Watchdog dot Org

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On July 28, 2010, the VA's Office of Inspector General (VAOIG) released the following two reports:

Combined Assessment Program Review of the Tomah VA Medical Center Tomah, Wisconsin -- Report Number 09-03277-214, 7/28/2010 | Summary | Report (PDF)

Combined Assessment Program Review of the Martinsburg VA Medical Center, Martinsburg, West Virginia -- Report Number 10-01619-216, 7/28/2010 | Summary | Report (PDF)

You can read the reports by using the hyperlinks above.

I will post a few highlights below.

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Tomah, Wisconsin

Reusable Medical Equipment:

Employees reprocessing reusable medical equipment need to follow standard operating procedures. Personal protective equipment needs to be properly donned in reprocessing areas. Training needs to be provided to staff responsible for low-level disinfection. Semi-annual environment of care rounds need to be conducted in Supply, Processing, and Distribution areas. Humidity in the Supply, Processing, and Distribution sterile storage area needs to be monitored, regulated, and maintained. Identified environment of care deficiencies in Supply, Processing, and Distribution decontamination and preparation areas need to be corrected.

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Martinsburg, West Virginia

1. • Require that validation of competencies, compliance with standard operating procedures (SOPs), results of infection prevention and control monitoring, and risk management related activities are reported to the Executive Committee of the Medical Staff (ECMS), as required.
2. • Ensure that managers institute appropriate interim measures to improve infection control in the operating room (OR) disinfection room until construction of the new reprocessing areas is completed.
3. • Require that identified environment of care (EOC) rounds attendance, safety, infection control, environmental hazards training, and respirator fit testing and training concerns be corrected.

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