Veteran's Photos Of Dirty VA Clinic Room Go Viral, Prompt Apology
(CBS News) -- One veteran's post on social media has prompted a VA clinic in Salt Lake City, Utah, to apologize for the disarray and dirty conditions found at the facility. CBS affiliate KUTV reports that Army veteran Christopher Wilson -- who served two tours in Iraq -- was subjected to a room he couldn't believe.
He took pictures that included "debris on the floor, a full garbage can, cutting tools, a soda cup on a counter and medical kits left open."
Wilson had a podiatry appointment scheduled April 5 and had to wait 45 minutes before he had discovered the filthy room.
"I figured they would say, 'Oh, this room's not clean,' and take me somewhere else, but they kind of just blew past it -- didn't acknowledge it," Wilson told KUTV.
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Wilson expected better treatment. He took to Facebook to post the photos which were later shared on Twitter by his father Stephen Wilson -- who even tagged President Trump:
My son is a Veteran of the United States Army. He went to the #VA in Salt Lake City yesterday. This was the condition of the room he was seen in. Very unprofessional, unsanitary and disrespectful. Please retweet. Maybe @realDonaldTrump will see it. pic.twitter.com/P4CMQeE74t
— Stephen Wilson (@GR8_2B_alive) April 27, 2018
VA Salt Lake City responded to the incident Saturday saying the room appears to be where casts are applied to patients with diabetic ulcers, according to KUTV.
KUTV also writes that the VA Salt Lake City's chief of staff Dr. Karen Gribbin responded and apologized for Wilson's experience. She took notes that may help with an investigation.
"I was taken aback by the condition of the room," she said. "Mr. Wilson should not have been placed in that room in that condition."
In a thread on Twitter, Stephen Wilson wrote that the VA clinic in Salt Lake City will "review policies" and they said that "sometimes medicine is messy."
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