SALISBURY — U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., left the Hefner VA Medical Center in Salisbury on Thursday encouraged that the hospital is addressing shortcomings cited in a recent inspection report.

“I was really pleased with what I heard today,” Hudson said. “There was a lot of accountability.”

Hudson met with interim Medical Director Linette Baker and the rest of her leadership team to review their response to a recent VA Office of Inspector General report listing 26 recommendations for improvements.

The inspector general report judged the Salisbury VA on 95 standards. The inspections are done every three years, and the most recent report was based on a visit in late March.

When the inspection report came out earlier this month, Hudson said he was “appalled anytime a veteran is suffering because of negligence from the VA,” and he called on the Salisbury VA “to immediately implement the VA OIG’s recommendations.”

Baker stressed to Hudson and the Post on Thursday that nothing cited by the inspection report adversely affected patients or their quality of care. Baker said most of the problems listed dealt with documentation.

She said VA employees often were documenting tasks performed, “but it was not documented where (the OIG) wanted it documented.”

Baker and the leadership team detailed for Hudson the ways the Salisbury VA has addressed the recommendations.

The leadership team included Joseph Edger, deputy network director; Joseph Laurer, acting associate director; Dr. Alok Trivedi, chief of staff; and Elizabeth Smith, associate director for patient care services and executive nurse.

Baker said the medical center welcomes the regular inspections and recommendations for improvements.

“It does make us better,” she said. “That’s what they’re there for.”

One recommendation Baker addressed was evidence that not all employees were receiving — within 90 days of being hired — four hours of mandatory training in the management of disruptive and violent behavior by patients.

The medical center’s standard says it must have a security training plan for employees at all risk levels. The Inspector General’s Office found that in 18 of 38 employee training records, there was no documentation of Level I training within 90 days of their being hired.

Likewise, in training records for 32 of those 38 new-hire employees, there was no documentation of the training required for their assigned risk area.

Baker said there is an emphasis now in making sure new employees who require that training receive it before they are working with patients. That way, they will automatically receive it within 90 days of being hired.

Hudson said he heard and saw in a brief tour that a number of things cited by the VA Inspector General are being addressed and is satisfied that patients’ health and safety are not being compromised.

“I do feel better,” said Hudson, who added it’s his responsibility to ask questions.

His congressional district has a big veterans population, including VA medical centers in Fayetteville and Salisbury, and Hudson said he takes seriously his role of “being their voice.”

The Salisbury VA Healthcare System has a primary service area of 21 counties and served an average of 91,000 to 92,000 patients annually over the past two fiscal years.

This Salisbury VA system has the major medical center in Salisbury and other health care centers in Kernersville, south Charlotte, north Charlotte, Hickory and Winston-Salem. In 2017, the VA’s employment in Salisbury alone is 2,279 people, and total employment when adding the other centers is 3,063.

Here are some other items cited in the Inspector General’s report and the Salisbury VA’s response:

• All the VA buildings did not have at least one fire drill per shift per quarter. Only one fire drill was missed, because of a scheduling error, out of more than 200 conducted, the Salisbury VA said. All fire drills are now up to date, it added.

• In the emergency department, 11 air-conditioning ventilation grills and three steam/heat grills were dusty. The Salisbury VA said all ventilation grills were cleaned immediately, and the cleaning frequency has increased to monthly.

• Two out of eight “patient nourishment refrigerators” contained several unlabeled food items. The Salisbury VA said the charge nurses check all refrigerators on each shift to make sure there are no unlabeled items.

• The facility did not have a policy for cleaning, disinfecting and sterilizing, and standard operating procedures for the colonoscope, esophagogastroduoenoscope and duoenoscope were not consistent with the manufacturers’ instructions for use. The Salisbury VA says all equipment is being cleaned and sterilized to manufacturer instructions and a manual cleaning process has been added in case instrument cleaning devices fail, “which has never happened at this facility.”

• “We observed chemicals stored in an unlocked supply cart in an area accessible to patients,” the report said. The Salisbury VA agreed the supply cart was unlocked but said it was in a locked room not accessible to patients. In response, the supply cart was locked and moved to a separate storage room.

• The Substance Abuse RRTP unit door (not the one considered the main point of entry) was locked to the outside but not alarmed. The Salisbury VA said the door is now alarmed and checked weekly. It is accessible only from the roof.

• The report also cited documentation issues in anticoagulation therapy, inter-facility transfers, moderate sedation, community nursing home oversight, utilization management and mental health rehab treatment. The Salisbury VA said it has addressed those issues.

Overall, Baker said, the Inspector General’s findings did not constitute a horrible report and the Salisbury VA tries to be as transparent as possible.

Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263.