Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this necessary meeting to discuss the risk created by a breach of standard operating procedures in the John Cochran VA Medical Center’s dental clinic and other non-compliance issues.

Since we learned earlier this month that veterans throughout the St. Louis and Illinois area could have been exposed to blood borne pathogens such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and HIV while receiving dental care at John Cochran VA Medical Center, I have heard from many constituents, veterans, and their families who are gravely concerned about this matter.

From where I stand, there are five issues that need to be addressed here today:

1. We need to make sure that the 1,821 veterans who have been directly impacted by this–and their families—are getting the special care they need, including any mental health care.
2. We need clear answers as to exactly what happened, how it could have gone on for as long as it did how it was uncovered.
3. I am determined to get to the bottom of whether an employee of the Medical Center was terminated in part because she raised concerns about the sanitization procedure.  In addition, I want to know what concrete steps the Cochran Center and the VA are taking to proactively reach out to current and former employees in order to seek information that may be relevant to this investigation.  When employees see coworkers who speak up lose their jobs, it can have a chilling effect, and a thorough investigation depends upon witnesses who feel safe and secure in their ability to be candid and forthright, without fear of retaliation from supervisors.  We must make sure employees who have information that is relevant to this matter are aware of their rights and feel comfortable coming forward.
4. I want to determine whether this latest incident in the dental clinic—in conjunction with prior safety and sanitization problems at Cochran—represent a larger systemic problem at this facility.  This is not the first time John Cochran VA Medical Center has been cited for serious infractions, which leads me to suspect that there maybe broader issues that need to be addressed at this facility.  In April 2010, the Veteran Affairs’ Office of Inspector General conducted an inspection to “determine the validity of allegations regarding ongoing issues with the Supply, Processing and Distribution departments related to reprocessing gastrointestinal endoscopes.”  The inspectors found that the SPD department did not have defined clean and dirty areas and there were severe communication breakdowns between staff regarding proper reprocessing procedures. Moreover, in 2009 Survey of Health Expectancies of Patients—a VA approved patient satisfaction survey that tracks satisfaction responses from inpatient and outpatient veterans—showed that John Cochran VA Medical Center scored the lowest score out of the 128 VA hospitals around the country in inpatient services.  A score of 46 percent is unacceptable in when it comes to providing much needed health care services to our veterans.
5. And most importantly—we need to determine what next steps must be taken in order to restore and rebuild the faith of our veterans—and the public—in the quality of care being delivered by the VA Health System generally and Cochran VA Med Center specifically.

Let me be clear—this is not and should not be an excise that broadly paints a negative picture of our VA Health Care system.

The fact is, I have been encouraged by the VA’s response to our inquiries, and I have no doubt that the leadership at the VA and Cochran care as deeply as I do about providing the best quality care possible for our veterans.

And certainly, many of the vets I have met and spoken with tell me that they have been extremely pleased with the care they have received through the VA—even veterans who received the letter advising them of their risk from the Dental Clinic.

In fact, just last Thursday, I met with a group of about 30 veterans from throughout the area after touring the Cochran facility.  TELL INDIVIDUAL STORY FROM VETS MEETING

But at the end of the day, it is critical that the VA identify and rectify any existing problems, make sure this never happens again, and take whatever steps are needed to rebuild our veteran’s confidence in the VA health care system.

To all the witnesses before us today—thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to appear before us.  I look forward to hearing your testimony.