Tomah VA dentist exposes nearly 600 vets to infection by improperly cleaning equipment

Dentist, who met with review board over
weekend, was using his own equip.

TOMAH, Wis. — After a mountain of public scrutiny in the wake of another Tomah VA scandal, a dentist who failed to follow proper infection control procedures has resigned.

Nearly 600 veterans were possibly exposed to HIV and hepatitis after the VA dentist in Tomah failed to properly clean his equipment.

Acting VA Director Victoria Brahm said the dentist was using his own equipment, cleaning it and reusing it, which violates the VA’s regulations that call for the use of sterile and disposable equipment.

“It was purposeful that he was violating VA regulations,” Brahm said earlier last week at a news conference. “During all of the orientation, he used all of our equipment. He used it appropriately, so it was very purposeful from what we found in our investigation that he knew exactly what he was doing, and preferred to use his own equipment against procedure.”

A review board was set to meet on the doctor over the weekend. He has yet to be named.

Brahm said there may be still repercussions from the dentist’s actions, as the resignation won’t stop the VA’s reporting of the dentist’s actions to the State Licensing Board and National Practitioner Data Bank. She stresses that there’s no indication any veteran has come down with an infection.

“Although we cannot prevent the dentist from resigning while administrative actions are pending, we are continuing reporting procedures to the State Licensing Board and the National Practitioner Data Bank,” Brahm said in a statement Friday. “We will not stop doing all we can to ensure those responsible for this serious breach of patient trust are held accountable.”