VA Leadership Vows to Fix Problems Identified at Marion VA Medi...(enhance regulations to prevent theseprob...),Health

Date:1/28/2008

enhance regulations to prevent these problems from occurring in the future. A VHA work group has been convened to develop new requirements for peer reviews, augmenting peer reviews conducted at smaller facilities by requiring external reviews and establishing improved parameters for future peer reviews of all types. These additional directives will be enacted within the month.

Both the Inspector General and the Medical Inspector's reports agreed there had been numerous instances of poor medical care at the facility. The Inspector General's report states the care of three patients who died following surgical procedures during Fiscal Year 2007 had "significant problems." The Medical Inspector's report, which reviewed Fiscal Years 2006 and 2007, and therefore substantially more cases, identifies a total of nine deaths directly attributable to substandard care. There were 34 cases in which care complicated patients' health, including 10 others who died. In these cases, the Medical Inspector could not determine if the care they received caused their deaths.

VA will begin immediately to contact those veterans and families of veterans who are believed to have been harmed by surgical care at the facility within the past two years to review their care with them, and known instances of substandard care will be disclosed. The Department will also assist patients and families who believe they have been harmed in their efforts to receive compensation. The Department has set up a toll-free phone number for patients and their families who are concerned about the care they received at the Marion VA hospital to call to receive additional information. The number is 1-800-983-0932.

"I am angered about the issues at Marion that are identified in these reports. We sincerely apologize to those who have received poor care, to their loved ones, to the Marion community, and to all veterans and their families," said Dr. Kussman. "We are determined to correct the pr
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SOURCE U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Copyright©2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

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