Alarmed by a recent newspaper article, U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) is going through federal congressional channels to determine if the Miami VA Medical Center is properly following HIV testing policy and complying with related procedures.
“We are appalled by recent reports about serious negligence at the Bruce W. Carter Miami VA Medical Center (Miami VAMC)” regarding at least eight veterans undergoing HIV testing there who received false results, wrote Rep. Curbelo and a bipartisan group of South Florida colleagues in a March 5 letter to U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee leaders.
In their letter, the lawmakers referred to a Feb. 28 article in the Miami Herald alleging the veterans who were undergoing HIV treatments at Miami VAMC received test results there that differed from the HIV test results they received when they were screened by outside labs. A VAMC employee lodged complaints with different agencies, including the White House, but an investigation by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reportedly couldn’t verify the employee’s claims. The independent U.S. Office of Special Counsel subsequently called the VA’s findings “unreasonable.”
“The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has already stated that the Miami VA Medical Center was slow to use the latest generation of HIV testing equipment and also concluded that the administrators ignored a whistle blower’s complaints,” according to the letter, which also was signed by U.S. Reps. Frederica Wilson (D-FL), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL).
The representatives in their letter urged U.S. Reps. Phil Roe (R-TN), a physician and chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, and Tim Walz (D-MN), ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, “demand the General Accountability Office launch an immediate investigation” into the situation. They want GAO “to determine how this happened, who was responsible, to what extent this is a problem throughout the VA medical system, and what we need to do to get the Miami VAMC up to the high standard our veterans deserve,” according to their letter.
“There are nearly 150,000 American heroes living in Monroe, Miami-Dade and Broward Counties and every single one of them deserve the very best healthcare services,” wrote the members. “A thorough investigation of these serious violations may ensure similar incidents do not occur again and restore faith in our ability to treat those who have borne the nation’s battles.”