WASHINGTON   –  U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08) today won approval for an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2011 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs funding bill.  Emerson’s proposal would require the VA to notify by telephone any patient who is exposed to improperly sterilized medical equipment.  The amendment is a reaction to an incident at the John Cochran VA Medical Center’s dental clinic in which 81 of Emerson’s constituents were treated with dental instruments potentially contaminated with Hepatitis B and HIV.

“The last thing a veteran in this unacceptable situation should have to do is wait on a letter from the VA.  They should have been contacted by the most immediate means available, and in the most caring, compassionate way possible.  That didn’t happen,” Emerson said.  “The VA clearly needs to be more accountable, both in preventing the mistreatment of veterans and in responding to incidents where the health of veterans has been placed in jeopardy.”

The amendment also requires VA to notify patients of the potential exposure to improperly sterilized medical equipment within 30 days.  Patients exposed at the John Cochran VA Medical Center dental clinic were first notified four months following the closure of the clinic.

A congressional hearing earlier this month in St. Louis addressed the incident and heard testimony that a whistleblower reported the improper sterilization of medical equipment to a supervisor.  Nothing was done to correct the situation, and the employee was subsequently dismissed.  Another amendment to the bill established protections for VA employees who make such reports.

“In order for the VA to be more accountable, the VA needs to hear from Congress that there is zero tolerance for behavior that deliberately places the health of VA patients at risk.  We have a grave responsibility to the Americans who serve our country in uniform, and they deserve better than what they are getting from the VA today,” Emerson said.