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Employees’ fear may have put vets’ health at risk

U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), chair of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

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By Ben Sutherly, Staff Writer Updated 11:58 AM Tuesday, March 15, 2011

DAYTON — A culture of fear may have kept workers and supervisors at the Dayton VA Medical Center’s dental clinic from disclosing the unsafe practices of one dentist over 18 years, a congressman said Monday.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said the clinic is compact and open, so employees’ activities can be easily viewed by their coworkers.

Miller is concerned there may be a widespread culture at the VA in which employees are afraid to speak up when they see issues that affect patients’ health and safety. Dental clinic employees and supervisors had known of the dentist’s infection control lapses for several years, but it wasn’t until July 2010 that two employees reported the problem to an outside VA panel, triggering an investigation.

“For very few people to have stepped forward is troubling to me,” said Miller, who toured the facility Monday with U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville.

VA officials said Monday they have now contacted all 535 patients who received invasive dental procedures — crown, bridge, root canal, filling and removal — between 1992 and July 2010 from Dr. Dwight M. Pemberton, 81, of Centerville. Invasive procedures accounted for only part of Pemberton’s workload during that period.

The patients are being tested for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. So far, nine patients have had preliminary positive tests: seven hepatitis C cases and two hepatitis B cases.

Jack Bernstein, an infectious disease physician at the Dayton VA, said many of the seven patients who tested positive initially for hepatitis C have been found not to have active cases of the disease.

“We’re trying to confirm if their test was a false positive,” Bernstein said.

Pemberton was not infected with hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV, Bernstein said.

The Department of Veterans Affairs on Friday reassigned Dayton VA Medical Center Director Guy Richardson to a newly created regional VA headquarters job in Cincinnati. The reassignment’s timing angered Turner, who along with Miller had hoped to meet with Richardson Monday.

“When we toured today, hardly anyone who was provided to us by the VA had any direct knowledge of what had occurred,” Turner said.

William C. Schoenhard, the VA’s deputy under secretary for health operations and management, said Monday that Richardson is on leave for an undetermined period for a “special family occasion.”

At some point, Schoenhard said, “we’re happy for Guy Richardson to meet with them (elected officials) at whatever venue would be appropriate. There’s certainly an openness and a willingness to provide that.”

The VA has insisted that Richardson, whose salary was $167,328 in 2010, was not promoted. But Turner said Monday he isn’t convinced.

“He certainly was not demoted,” Turner said, noting Richardson moved from being head of a single facility to being part of a leadership structure overseeing several facilities. “To me, that’s a promotion.”

William D. Montague has been named acting director of the Dayton VA Medical Center. Montague said he will be making rounds at the hospital.

“The way I find out what’s going on is I wander,” Montague said in describing his leadership style. “I believe you find out more by going there than asking (department supervisors) to come to you.”

Turner on Monday didn’t rule out the possibility of a criminal investigation into how Pemberton could be allowed to risk veterans’ health with his infection control practices for years.

“It certainly could be possible that all aspects of this could result in additional investigations,” Turner said when asked about law enforcement becoming involved.

Turner also renewed his calls for accountability in the case. Pemberton retired in the midst of the investigation.

“I do not believe the investigation that has been completed thus far tells us enough of what occurred here and how it should be stopped,” Turner said. “I don’t believe the people have been held appropriately accountable, and I’m not certain that the VA has a very good picture of what needs to be done.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7457 or bsutherly@Dayton DailyNews.com.

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