Courtesy Stephen Wilson
SALT LAKE CITY — An Iraq War veteran says he wants to start a conversation about the kind of care veterans are getting in Utah a recent visit to the Veterans Affairs hospital.
Army vet Christopher Wilson said he went to the Salt Lake City VA Medical Center to get some injections in his leg earlier this month, but the patient room was in bad shape.
“(The) garbage was full; sinks were a mess. It was just kind of interesting that they would put a patient in there,” Wilson said. “I mean, they know what they’re doing. They’re doctors. I figured one of them would say, ‘Let’s go somewhere else,’ or, ‘Give us a minute to clean it.’ But yeah, nothing,”
April 29, 2018 at 7:10 am
Dr. Karen Gribbin, chief of staff for the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, acknowledged the problems with the room and said she was “taken aback” by the condition it was in.
“Mr. Wilson should not have been placed in the room in that condition. The room should be cleaned. Supplies and trash (should be) removed before the next patient is placed in there,” Gribbin said.
She said it appeared the materials were left behind after a different patient needed a cast.
Gribbin says she plans to meet with staff today about the problem.
The story received national attention over the weekend, as the pictures were shared thousands of times.