Inspections show that Veterans Administration medical facilities made significant progress on fixing endoscopic procedure problems that potentially exposed thousands to HIV and other infections.

The director of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Augusta says she’s “100 percent sure” the hospital has corrected sterilization problems that may have exposed some patients to infectious body fluids.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will be asked to pay disability benefits and possibly other compensation for hospital mistakes that possibly exposed veterans to infectious body fluids.

An attorney for veterans who were possibly exposed to HIV and other infections at three Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals says his clients are waiting to hear if they will be compensated for mistakes that led to congressional hearings and new VA spending on patient safety.

A new federal report shows a Veterans Affairs clinic in Augusta was investigating improper sterilization of endoscopic equipment a month before a similar discovery in Tennessee set off a national review of VA cleaning procedures.

Lawmakers sharply criticized the Department of Veterans Affairs on Tuesday about why a national scare over botched colonoscopies earlier this year didn’t prompt stronger safeguards at the agency’s medical centers. House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner said VA Secretary Eric Shinseki has pledged to take disciplinary action over the matter.

The Associated Press has learned that fewer than half of Veterans Affairs clinics given a surprise inspection last month followed proper standards for colonoscopies and other minimally invasive procedures - even after the agency learned that mistakes may have exposed thousands of veterans to HIV and other diseases.

Mistakes that put patients at three Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals at risk of possible exposure to HIV and other infectious body fluids will be discussed by a congressional panel. Among more than 10,000 former VA patients in Murfreesboro, Miami and Augusta, Ga., who the VA has warned to get follow-up blood checks, five have tested positive for HIV and 39 have tested positive for hepatitis.

The director of the Miami Veterans Affairs Healthcare System says she was “heartbroken” when she learned patients had been exposed to contaminated medical equipment at VA hospitals. Mary D. Berrocal told The Associated Press on Tuesday that she has created a position to supervise training in Miami and make sure biomedical equipment is functioning properly.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs officials say 16 patients exposed to contaminated equipment at its medical facilities have tested positive for viral infections, including hepatitis. VA spokeswoman Katie Roberts said Friday that 10 colonoscopy patients from the VA medical center in Murfreesboro, Tenn., tested positive for hepatitis. She said six patients from a VA clinic in Augusta, Ga., tested positive for unspecified viral infections.