This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, March 14, 2011 - On March 7, the inspector general of the Department of Veterans Affairs released a report on their investigation into last summer's revelation that dental equipment at John Cochran VA Medical Center was not being sterilized properly. This report is particularly timely, given the recent closure of the surgical suite at John Cochran due to improper cleaning of surgical equipment.
Before examining the specifics of the inspector general report, let me put this incident in context. In March 2007, the VA inspector general released a report highlighting a number of serious problems at John Cochran. In August 2008 the inspector general released another report highlighting serious issues, including five repeat recommendations from previous IG investigations. In May 2009 the Inspector General released a report on 44 recently inspected VA health facilities and John Cochran was one of two identified nation-wide as having "significant weaknesses."
In May 2010 the inspector general released a report substantiating allegations that endoscopic equipment was not being cleaned properly at John Cochran. On June 28, 2010, the VA announced that 1,812 veterans had potentially been exposed to HIV or hepatitis due to improper cleaning of dental equipment at John Cochran, which is the subject of this IG report. Finally, on Feb. 2, 2011, the surgical suites at John Cochran VAMC were closed due to improperly cleaned surgical equipment.
It is clear that patients -- our veterans -- are not being well served by this facility. According to the VA's own patient satisfaction surveys, for the past five years the facility ranked at or near the bottom in veterans satisfaction. According to the 2010 VAH Facility Quality & Safety Report, just recently released by the VA, John Cochran ranked 139 out of 140 VA hospitals for inpatient satisfaction; its "Overall Rating of Hospital" score placed it dead last among reporting hospitals.
In this context, the inspector general report released a week ago only confirms my concerns about John Cochran VA Medical Center as an institution. The report states that when the investigators visited the facility in late August and September 2010, serious problems remained with cleaning dental equipment. Six months after originally discovering the problem, and more than two months after a congressional hearing and significant media attention on the problem, dental equipment at John Cochran was still not being cleaned properly. Even though the director of the hospital and senior VA leaders assured St. Louis veterans that the problems were resolved, the fact is that problem remained. And now, last month, the problem showed up once again, this time in the surgical suite.
The question before the VA leadership, the St. Louis community, and members of Congress, is how do we provide world-class care for our St. Louis area veterans? It is clear that inspector general investigations, congressional hearings and strong statements from the secretary of veterans affairs have not changed the realities that veterans face at John Cochran VAMC.
Although I was recently criticized for mentioning the idea, I am not convinced that throwing more money at Cochran will fix the problem. Perhaps we need to replace the management team at Cochran. Or perhaps we should focus less on fixing a particular institution and more on delivering high quality health care to our veterans.
Can we use the great, private medical institutions around St. Louis to provide care to our veterans? This may not be easy, but it may be a simple and better solution than trying to fix a chronically ill VA medical center.
While we in Congress can hold oversight hearings and bring issues to the public's attention, at the end of the day we only have the power of the purse to actually change programs. If John Cochran is continuing to fail the veterans it is supposed to serve, we should take that money and find a better way to deliver health care to our veterans. We have had years of strong statements from VA leadership and action plans for fixing Cochran, none of which has fixed the problem.
The most recent IG report makes it clear once again that John Cochran VA Medical Center is failing St. Louis area veterans. As a community, we cannot stand by any longer and assume that VA leadership will fix Cochran. It is time to make it right for our veterans.
Todd Akin, R-Town and Country, represents the 2nd congressional district. He serves on the House Armed Services Committee.