Tomah VA dentist under investigation resigns

TOMAH, Wis. (WKBT) — The dentist responsible for potentially exposing hundreds of veterans at the Tomah VA to serious infections has resigned.

The dentist under investigation was scheduled for a hearing before a summary review board Monday.

The VA is currently offering free screenings for nearly 600 veterans who were treated by the dentist from October of last year to October of this year.

So far, more than 200 of the impacted veterans have contacted the VA and about 60 have been tested.

The testing began after the dentist failed to clean certain equipment properly between patients, putting them at risk for HIV and hepatitis.

Tomah VA officials say endangering veterans like this is unacceptable.

“As a 20 year veteran who’s here, where our number one mission is to protect veterans while we provide them with the care that they’ve earned and deserve, there’s nothing else that’s going in my mind than ‘well, if you’ve put these veterans in danger, I don’t want you here either,'” said Tomah VA Public Affairs Officer Matthew Gowan.

The Tomah VA says the screening of veteran patients is strictly precautionary. 

There are no reports of people being infected.