Update: Physician assistant who resigned in wake of veteran's death rehired at another Oklahoma VA center
Related story: Plan to replace Talihina VA residential care center sparks fears
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OKLAHOMA CITY — Four staff members at the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs Talihina facility have resigned after a resident who later died was found with maggots in a wound, the agency said.
Executive Director Myles Deering said the maggots were discovered while the patient was alive but were not the cause of his death. He said the man came into the center with an infection.
“He did not succumb as a result of the parasites,” Deering said Tuesday. “He succumbed as a result of the sepsis.”
Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening complication of an infection.
A physician’s assistant and three nurses, including the director of nursing, resigned in the wake of the investigation, said Shane Faulkner, a spokesman for the agency.
“All four chose to resign before the termination process began,” Faulkner said.
The agency reported the incident to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, said Deering, who also serves as secretary of Veterans Affairs.
It also submitted a report to the district attorney to see if charges are warranted, Deering said.
Jeff Smith, district attorney for LeFlore and Latimer counties, said Wednesday his office has yet to receive the report but he was made aware of the situation by the agency.
Deering said the facility staff discovered the maggots.
The Oklahoma State Department of Health on Oct. 13 received an incident report from the veterans center in Talihina, said Jamie Dukes, an Oklahoma State Department of Health spokeswoman.
The agency denied a request to provide the report, saying it contained identifying information that is prohibited by law from being released.
Based on the report, “it was determined that the facility fully investigated the incident and took any appropriate actions,” Dukes said.
Raymie Parker, of Atlanta, identified the dead man as his father, Owen Reese Peterson.
Peterson, 73, died Oct. 3 at the Talihina Veterans Center, according to his obituary.
Born in Texas, he grew up on a farm, according to the obituary. He joined the Army in 1969 and served in Vietnam, Parker said.
Parker described his father as a hardworking Texas boy, a patriot and a country poet.
“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.”
Deering said the patient’s medication was increased during his care.
Parker said the floor nursing staff was outstanding, but he is displeased with the senior medical personnel and administration.
Deering said the agency has been considering moving from the facility, which can house up to 175 residents. The facility is nearly 100 years old, he said.
Fixing the existing structures would take millions of dollars, Deering said.
Another problem is the inability to find and retain staff, said Sen. Frank Simpson, R-Springer, chairman of the Senate Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs.
“The Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs is required to maintain certain staffing levels and currently is unable to meet them,” he said. “At Talihina, they had to reduce the population of veterans there due to the inability to staff the facility.”
The Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs was in the news a few years ago after families and veterans raised concerns about the care.
A former Claremore Veterans Center physician’s assistant, Kenneth A. Adams, was sentenced to 90 days in jail stemming from the 2012 deaths of Louis Arterberry, 86, and Jay Minter, 85.
Minter died from complications from thermal injuries after being scalded in a whirlpool; Arterberry died after having a stroke, according to news reports.
Those and other incidents prompted a series of legislative hearings into the matter.
Simpson said the state has made tremendous progress in the past few years in improving care at the facilities.
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38 comments:
Kendall Shessar posted at 9:50 pm on Tue, Dec 6, 2016.
Asher, The VA head is a democrat, appointed by a democrat. However, BOTH parties have and are failing the Vets. You can't blame this on Repubs nor can repubs put all he blame on Obamacare. As a healthcare worker I can tell you that if Obamacare stays as it is, we will see conditions worsen.
Kendall Shessar posted at 9:46 pm on Tue, Dec 6, 2016.
The nurses were severely/routinely short staffed due to administration issues. The admin there were/are fully aware they are short staffed but choose to over burden the nurses. I don't know the nurses or admin, but as a Nurse I can tell you that there is more to the story than low level staff that are lazy or reckless
Kendall Shessar posted at 9:43 pm on Tue, Dec 6, 2016.
Before we "burn em at the stake" Lets think about something. I am an RN and a Vet, I was looking at going to work there. I was told by numerous people how bad the working conditions are and that they are way understaffed a report on your license for the smallest of infractions in order to cover the VAs rear end. So you do the math, you have 100 patients, you have 12 hours in a shift and it takes 30-46 minutes from the time you gather supplies, get to the room, was hands, remove the dressing, clean the wound, rebandage, and then wash your hands again and then document what you just did. It is impossible to perform the necessary duties and the administration is fully aware of this. I do not know any of the people who resigned, but I can tell you that the ones that needed to be grilled are the upper administration. I chose not to go to work there because I wanted to protect my license from those conditions and the stress of not being able to do half of your mandated tasks is no good either. These people were in the trenches if you will and their administration failed the Vets and their employees. On a side note, maggots are used to help clean wounds and...the only reason the patient may have needed for medications is for pain, so that tells me that the patient may have refused. If they have done the change anyway, they could be charged with assault. It happens
Dave Anders posted at 2:06 pm on Mon, Dec 5, 2016.
P.S. Despite Obama/Democrat propaganda stunts to throw away more money, make the Republicans look bad, etc.: Republicans get a majority of the veterans' votes!
According to CNN. Trump crushed Hillary in veterans' vote: 60-34!!
(6% were other or none.)
Dave Anders posted at 2:02 pm on Mon, Dec 5, 2016.
Of course even Obama & Co's numerous Pinocchios from the Dem/lefty Washington Post for repeated VA lies, horrors, etc. probably won't matter to you.
Neither will Obama's stunts to throw away more money, make the Republicans look bad, etc.
Despite the Democrats' propaganda attempts to bash Republicans about the current military, VA, etc. --- Republicans get a majority of their votes! According to CNN. Trump crushed Hillary in military vote: 60-34 with 6% other or none
Ed Jime posted at 12:52 pm on Mon, Dec 5, 2016.
Except you are forgetting one thing, as stated in the article, The Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs is in charge, A STATE AGENCY, which gets its funding from both the federal government and the state. Oklahoma, just like Texas, keeps cutting the budget for healthcare, including vet care. As I recall, the state of Oklahoma is controlled by Republicans, why aren't they funding Vet Care?
Dave Anders posted at 11:23 am on Mon, Dec 5, 2016.
(This references info that is not mine, but is easy to verify by Googling. A sample link also is shown.)
Many Democrats try to blame Republicans for just about everything, including the VA debacles. Republicans are not blameless, BUT --- The Washington Post is seldom a friend of Republicans. Even their fact checkers often have pounded Obama and his cronies for their lies, horror shows, etc. regarding the VA. When a media outfit that routinely goes after Republicans bashes Obama & Co., they rate to be very serious about the matter!
Here is yet another article in which they gave Obama their worse possible rating of 4 PINOCCHIOS regarding another of his VA con jobs! BTW, in the last year or two, they also gave two other "awards" of 4 PINOCCHIO each to Obama's replacement VA Secretary, Robert McDonald, for his lies regarding wait times, firings, etc.!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/10/12/obamas-claim-a-whole-bunch-of-people-who-are-in-charge-of-va-facilities-were-fired-over-wait-times/?utm_term=.0214905c4f1b
Patrick Smith posted at 11:02 am on Mon, Dec 5, 2016.
There's precious little about the details of the case except that there was an infection with sepsis and maggots were discovered, apparently at least at some point concealed by bandages. Reading this sentence "I pled with the medical staff, the senior medical staff, to increase his meds so his bandages could be changed" makes we wonder about other details. Under what circumstances are "meds" increased to allow bandages to be changed? Why would staff be reluctant to increase meds or change dressings? I can't help but feel we're given a lot about previous history and related institutional issues, but that we're not being told, for better or worse, the real story of this individual case. As a vet, hearing so much from the Phoenix hospital, I see there broad suggestive articles too, with similar paucity of case specific detail. If this is ever going to be more than a political football the public needs to know all the details, not just sensational isolated elements. The story here is not the VA, it's about this poor fellow's story. Why so much about the former and so little about the latter?
Steve Bensen posted at 2:26 pm on Sun, Dec 4, 2016.
Resigned? They should be in jail for reckless endangerment if not for murder
Abry Roarty posted at 11:10 am on Sun, Dec 4, 2016.
VA employees are GOVERNMENT employees. Hard to 'fire'.
Sick and disgusting people. HOW SAD to treat our veterans and elderly like that.
Mary Anne Clark posted at 11:08 am on Sun, Dec 4, 2016.
After WWII, military veterans ran the VA system and physicians, nurses were proud to be working there, The decline at the VA now began when this generation retired and the massive hiring of Foreign Medical School grads whose training/schooling is deficient. If dressings were not being changed, no wonder the poor man died from sepsis. the medical staff responsible for this man's care should at least lose their license to practice, but also be charged criminally.
Matthew Kent posted at 9:45 am on Sun, Dec 4, 2016.
[sad] only certain types of maggots are used to clean wounds. These were not those as they are used under on very careful supervision. And they are used to clean only certain types of wounds.
http://www.monarchlabs.com/mdt
Jim Black posted at 3:56 pm on Fri, Dec 2, 2016.
Here is the story of a veteran boiled in the VA center in Claremore, OK http://www.newson6.com/story/19711766/inspection-reveals-abuse
Jim Black posted at 3:52 pm on Fri, Dec 2, 2016.
Not the first problem in N.E. Oklahoma. Here is a link to a veteran boiled in Claremore. http://journalrecord.com/2012/05/03/mission-failure-abuse-neglect-prevalent-at-many-state-veterans-homes-capitol/
William Boggs posted at 3:21 pm on Fri, Dec 2, 2016.
Bingo...but it's FREEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!
Bob Lucas posted at 3:16 pm on Fri, Dec 2, 2016.
This is terrible. They should be in jail.
Raymie Parker posted at 2:13 pm on Fri, Dec 2, 2016.
I left a message with Inhofe's office while this was going on---nothing but crickets.
Hank Harley posted at 1:30 pm on Fri, Dec 2, 2016.
Asher - - - - -
I will get you a hanky. All of us despicable Republicans making you sad?
Hank Harley posted at 1:29 pm on Fri, Dec 2, 2016.
Asher, you poor soul. The country was tired of the FAILED democratic policies that have crippled us under your hero Obama for the past 8 years. You need to move to the winning side . . . . .
Yusuf Abdullah posted at 12:04 pm on Fri, Dec 2, 2016.
Did we read the same article? I didn't read anything about the old guy's patriotism--or lack thereof--nor about his being "allowed to die", nor about how any hospital personnel felt about their duties. A weak, old man came to the hospital with an advanced infection, and died there of sepsis. Period.
Yusuf Abdullah posted at 11:58 am on Fri, Dec 2, 2016.
I believe you mean "sordid".
John Jackson posted at 10:32 am on Fri, Dec 2, 2016.
If you've ever wondered what single-payer, government-run health care looks like, cast a glance.
Hank Harley posted at 10:19 am on Fri, Dec 2, 2016.
Maggots clean the wound.
Dana Asher posted at 10:19 am on Fri, Dec 2, 2016.
Where is Jim(that baffles me )Inhofe...he is always saying....I'll do any thing for the military!
He only cares about the war machine, and making sure the taxpayers cover the bills.....service personnel.....throw away......a true republican...
You ca not blame Obama or Obamacare on this mess!! Republicans in control of congress and the budget....for 8 years....
Raymie Parker posted at 9:30 am on Fri, Dec 2, 2016.
Just to be clear--The nurses and staff on the floor were outstanding and did identify the issue but were shutdown by the upper administration and Medical staff. You do not have the full story here.
John Maldonado posted at 9:29 am on Fri, Dec 2, 2016.
The VA has a sorted history even at the beginning.
Gordon Mills posted at 9:09 am on Fri, Dec 2, 2016.
Obamacare
Lance Rider posted at 8:25 am on Fri, Dec 2, 2016.
Congress is responsible for the funding of our government and the lack of funding is the problem in the VA. Who has had control of congress and done nothing for the last 6 years? Republicans.
cecelia huggins posted at 7:17 am on Fri, Dec 2, 2016.
Still horrendous care after 8 years of Obama. This system needs an overhaul and I'm thankful Trump will make those changes. He actually cares about the veterans.
Bill Sweeney posted at 7:09 am on Fri, Dec 2, 2016.
I see that Proctor&Gamble ran on it's own. Robert McDonald seems to be worthless. And blaming the Republican is odd because the Democrats (Obama ) lead us for 8 years and prior to that we had Bush who loved vets.
Dianna Smith posted at 11:34 pm on Thu, Dec 1, 2016.
Its the Republicans that keep refusing to fully fund Veterans Affairs.
Charles Shumate posted at 9:57 pm on Thu, Dec 1, 2016.
The story here is about an American patriot who was ailing, not given proper care, and was allowed to die by hospital personnel who obviously did not take their duties seriously.
It's not a story about which political party is in power.
Dana Asher posted at 9:01 pm on Thu, Dec 1, 2016.
all under republicans watch........
Yusuf Abdullah posted at 7:36 pm on Thu, Dec 1, 2016.
You're right, of course, but "Maggots in Wound" make a great attention-getting headline.
Mert McGee posted at 6:49 pm on Thu, Dec 1, 2016.
And funded and overseen by The Department of Veterans Affairs
Michael Schneider posted at 6:41 pm on Thu, Dec 1, 2016.
I doubt the maggots were intentional, but, maggot therapy has been around since the 1920's and in 2004 the FDA approved them as a valid “medical device.”
Maybe if they had been left in place to do their job, he would have survived.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/news-science-shows-how-maggots-heal-wounds/
LAURIE PHILLIPS THOMAS posted at 6:14 pm on Thu, Dec 1, 2016.
The Veterans Center is administered by the state.
Mert McGee posted at 5:38 pm on Thu, Dec 1, 2016.
Thanks Obama
Nice job mooching nurses at checking the wounds regularly [thumbdown