Mold allegations at the VA hospital

[Guest guest]

Mold allegations at the VA hospital

The Veterans' Hospital in Amarillo

By Davila

Posted: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 at 8:05 AM

http://www.kvii.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=28702

KVII 7 Amarillo Wed, 28 Feb 2007 3:28 PM PST

AMARILLO -- From the 1st floor to the 4th and everywhere in between,

2 women who work at Amarillo's Veteran's Hospital allege the campus

is full of a highly toxic black mold.

In fact, they say there is so much mold, they both have become very

sick, retaliated against and face the possibility of being fired.

Four years ago, Jeanie Bilodeau got really sick. She came down with

laryngitis, among other things and her symptoms just got worse and

never went away. She claims she became exposed to the mold growing

inside her office.

" I had a leak in my office and instead of fixing the leak, they kept

spray painting the ceiling tiles, " alleged Bilodeau. Bilodeau said

since that time things have gone downhill, not only with her health,

but at the hospital. " They've found black mold in our OR and closed

it. Supposedly cleaned it out, " said Bilodeau.

She goes on to say, " One of the construction guys working on the VA

said when they opened up radiology it was full of black mold. "

At the age of 48, Bilodeau should be in the prime of her life.

Instead, she can barely walk, hardly breathe and can't even manage

an everyday task.

But it's the future that scares her the most.

" That's what I'm afraid of that it's in my lungs. I'm going to get

cancer and that's what bothers me the most, " she said.

Carolyn Tanner is the other employee claiming there's mold at the VA

Hospital.

" It's been tested for mold. There's been mold exposed and so in

several areas, " said Tanner.

Like Bilodeau, Tanner is also struggling to get by. She suffers

daily from severe allergies, skin rashes, even bronchitis. But

that's just a few, her symptoms are too numerous to list.

Tanner said she's told VA administrators there is a problem.

" They took air samples and pretty much told us we didn't know what

we are talking about, " Tanner said.

But Hospital officials said the issue is being blown out of

proportion.

" There has been mold found from time to time in various areas of

this facility as I think you would find as with any facility of this

size. That mold has always been remediated, " said Bayley

Associate Director for the Hospital.

Bayley said they've done numerous air and swab tests, but all the

samples haven't shown anything out of the ordinary. Despite what

Bayley said, the victims along with their union president said there

is mold on the campus and they have the proof to back it up. They

said the biggest problem is the constant leaking ceilings.

One of the women even turned over a home video to Pronews 7 taken

inside the VA Hospital.

You can see the buckets full of water, hoses running from the

ceiling to the pails and the stained ceiling tiles. These employees

allege they've told VA staff about the conditions many times, but

clean up is minimal and they said they've seen the so-called shoddy

work with their own eyes.

" That's paint brush marks where you all have been painting over the

mold and it's still bleeding through, " said Dallas Ducheneaux, Union

President.

As Union President, Ducheneaux took his own swab samples and had

them tested by a certified lab in Arizona.

" They were high numbers, like in the hundreds of thousands, " said

Ducheneaux.

But Bayley said that can't be possible. According to the

Environmental Protection Agency, air sampling for mold only provides

enough information at the time the tests were taken.

Other research shows, air sampling isn't always the best way to test

for mold, in fact, the best way to know for sure is to use multiple

testing methods. Again, Bayley said he takes these allegations very

seriously and he said he is not aware of any areas of mold at this

time.

We were given a few samples recently taken by the VA employees and

we wanted to get them tested, but we couldn't confirm they came from

the VA. So we asked hospital officials to go on their next

investigation with them and they said no.

A few days after we conducted the interview with the VA's Associate

Director, environmental specialists were back out at the hospital

doing more tests. We also obtained a copy of a report from a test

done on January 18th, 2007.

The samples collected did have above average results, but the

report's conclusion states the levels are considered to be low. The

report also said the spore counts could be higher if the conditions

were different.

According to OSHA, there are no standards for " acceptable levels of

mold in buildings. " " OSHA did come in and inspect and the VA got

written up and had to post forms stating how hazardous the working

conditions are, " said Bilodeau.

The complainants even have the proof in pictures, a video, even

medical records.

" I'm 48 and I think that has probably shortened my life span. I'm

not surprised if by the time I'm 60 I'm on portable oxygen, "

Bilodeau said.

Though the VA said there isn't a problem we do know for certain

there is one building on the campus so full of mold it had to be

evacuated, locked up and will soon be torn down.

" The mold is 5 inches thick on the walls, " said Bilodeau.

Besides their own health issues, these women say the mold has caused

a high rate of post-surgery staph infections, even cancer.

" There have been no hospital-acquired, fungal-based infections at

this facility. I hate to say never, but certainly in the last 10

years, " said Bayley.

Some people would say why not quit? But these women say it's not as

easy as that.

" It does not protect our veterans. It does not protect our

employees. It doesn't protect the visitors or the people that

volunteer, " Tanner said.

" If we don't stand up and do something it's over with. If we quit

it's over with. They'd just drop it. The VA's won, " Bilodeau

remarked.

But if the problem isn't solved and the hospital isn't thoroughly

cleaned these employees say going to the media is the least of the

VA's worries.

The women have since gone to a lawyer for advice who said there is

enough evidence to prove there is a serious problem at the hospital.

But at this point, there is not a lawsuit pending.