Students at USC-Aiken were encouraged Thursday to get free HIV testing while representatives from Sean’s Last Wish were there. The tests are completely confidential, and students were counseled about safe sex and sexually transmitted diseases.

She is a mother, on a mission. 28 months ago, Sean Kennedy was killed outside a bar, in Greenville, South Carolina. His mother now travels the country, spreading the message about hate crimes, and Thursday, she stopped in Aiken. WJBF News Channel 6’s Joy Howe has the story.

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 study shows Richmond and Burke counties have unusually high numbers of people infected with HIV and AIDS.  That’s one reason local health officials are trying to get the word out about national HIV-AIDS testing day this weekend.

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.

The Department of Veterans Affairs reports that three patients exposed to contaminated medical equipment have tested positive for HIV in follow-up exams. The VA said Friday that unverified tests show one patient each from its Murfreesboro, Tenn., Augusta, Ga., and Miami medical facilities have the virus that causes AIDS. It previously reported one positive HIV test but didn’t identify the facility where the patient had been treated.

A U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs patient has tested positive for HIV since being treated with equipment that exposed thousands of patients to other patients’ body fluids.  The VA on Monday did not return telephone and e-mail messages seeking comment about the location of the medical facility where the patient was treated before testing positive for the virus that causes AIDS.

State of Georgia officials are taking a look at a local medical center. Workers there may not have followed proper cleaning procedures, which could have placed hundreds of patients in danger of infection. WJBF News Channel 6’s Fraendy Clervaud has the story.