Health inspectors found numerous deficiencies at two Veterans Affairs facilities in Massachusetts, according to a pair of federal reports cited by The Boston Globe.
The VA's Office of Inspector General published the reports Jan. 13, summarizing the findings of routine inspections at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital in Bedford and the VA Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System in Northampton.
In total, the OIG shared 30 recommendations for the Northampton facility to improve care quality and patient safety. VA officials found the health system failed to disclose sentinel events to the family members of five patients who died between December 2014 and June 2019. However, VA spokesperson Andre Bowser disputed this claim, saying the health system notified families but did not properly record it in its system.
"[The report] did not identify any negative impacts to patient care and found that 'patients were generally satisfied with the leadership and care provided,'" Mr. Bowser told The Boston Globe, adding that the facility is already working to implement the VA's recommendations.
An inspection of the Bedford facility revealed issues with documentation, clinician training and the building's physical structure. The OIG issued 20 recommendations to address these shortcomings.
"Bedford VA Medical Center continually strives to improve performance, and already has plans in place to complete the OIG's recommendations in the near future," Pallas Wahl, a spokesperson for the Bedford facility, told The Boston Globe.