Healthcare Inspection Telemetry Unit Issues John Cochran Division, St. Louis VA Medical Center, St. Louis, Missouri

The VA Office of Inspector General Office of Healthcare Inspections conducted an evaluation to determine the validity of allegations related to the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) and blood pressure machines, staff compliance with isolation precautions, and functionality of equipment on the telemetry unit at the John Cochran Division of the St. Louis VA Medical Center, St. Louis, MO. We substantiated that PPE was not always available on the telemetry unit; however, this issue was resolved prior to our site visit. We substantiated that blood pressure machines may not have always been available on the telemetry unit; however, we determined that staff could secure additional machines through Logistics Service as needed for patient care. We did not substantiate that staff did not follow proper isolation precautions when caring for infectious patients. We substantiated that some equipment needed for patient care on the telemetry unit was non-functional at the time of the complaint; however, actions had been taken by management or were ongoing to address the issues prior to our visit. We also noted that managers established an executive office action line for staff to report their concerns to leadership. As the issues reviewed had largely been addressed and resolved at the time of our visit, we made no recommendations.