Four Resign from VA Health Facility After the Discovery of Maggots in Patient���s Wound
And MORE madness, courtesy of Veterans Administration health facilities.
Just a couple of days ago, this space detailed the dire straits potentially facing many vets who unwittingly found themselves victims of the gross negligence of a dentist working out of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Tomah, Wis. It seems that rather than using disposable equipment, in keeping with strict VA rules, the dentist was instead self-cleaning and reusing his instruments, exposing nearly 600 patients at the facility to the risk of HIV and hepatitis infections.
Now, in reporting by Townhall.com, comes word that an elderly veteran who was a patient at the Oklahoma Veterans Center in Talihina, Okla. back in October was discovered to have maggots essentially living inside of his wound.
Owen Reese Peterson, a 73-year-old vet, originally reported to the facility with a case of sepsis, a life-threatening complication of infection.
Peterson subsequently died of infection-related causes. On October 13, following his death, an incident report was filed that revealed the presence of the maggots in one of his wounds.
Although Myles Deering, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Veterans Center, declared it was the infection and not the maggots that caused Peterson���s death, that revelation hardly diminishes the shock of the incident, or provides much consolation to Peterson���s family. According to Raymie Parker, Peterson���s son, his own pleas to facility staff to have them provide better care to his father���s bandages went unheeded.
���During the 21 days I was there... I pled with the medical staff, the senior medical staff, to increase his meds so his bandages could be changed,��� Parker said. ���I was met with a stonewall for much of that time.���
Three nurses and a physician���s assistant have resigned in the wake of the horrible revelation about Peterson���s wound. The Oklahoma State Department of Health has been officially informed of the incident. Additionally, the matter was referred to the district attorneys of both LeFlore and Latimer counties for the possible filing of charges.
By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large
