Noteboom The Law Firm

John Cochran St. Louis VA Medical Center Re-Opened For Surgeries

March 18, 2011 - On February 2, 2011 the John Cochran St . Louis Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center closed its doors because of suspected contamination in their surgical units. In the interests of patient safety, surgeries were suspended while the employees searched for the source of the contamination. On March 10, 2011, the John Cochran VA Medical Center re-opened the doors to its surgical suites and is ready to resume performing operations again.

The medical center was thoroughly investigated to locate the source of the contamination. In addition to VA contamination experts, multiple private companies as well as independent consultants used the proverbial fine-toothed comb to search the Sterile Processing Department (SPD). Despite everyone's efforts, nobody was able to discover why surgical trays were covered in corrosion after being washed, which lead to the initial closing. The VA would not be opening their doors, however, if they did not feel the situation was safe and they could deliver the level of safety in surgical procedures owed to their patients.

As part of the investigation, the VA addressed and fixed every potential place where a contamination problem may exist. Everything was washed multiple times, and thousands of tools and instruments were replaced as opposed to being washed. Outside consultants verified the VA's determination of safety and supported their decision to once again open their doors.

On the heels of this most recent contamination episode, the VA gave the green light to a $6.8 million expansion and improvement of the SPD. Improvements include a surgical tool tracking system and brand new sterilizing and washing units.