The Veterans Affairs General Inspectors office in Washington, D.C. has completed an investigation into the deaths of two Butler County Veterans Affairs Center patients, but details of that report are not being made public.

The inspector general's report was prompted after two families complained to the Butler County Veterans Affairs office that their loved ones died from staphylococcus aureus infections at the facility in May.

The head of that office, John Cyprian, filed the request that prompted the investigation. He is unhappy over the secrecy surrounding the results.

"If we filed the (complaint), we'd like to see the details," he said. "Otherwise, what's the point in filing the complaint in the first place?"

Cyprian said there isn't much point in complaining to the VA's internal investigation office if they won't do anything about the complaint or let the complainant know the results of the investigation once it's complete.

Albert Richard McKnight, 77, of Forward Township and John Stevenson, 63, of Butler died May 20 and May 4, respectively, after suffering from staph infections.

Staph is a bacteria commonly carried on the skin or in the noses of healthy people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most staph infections are minor and can be treated with antibiotics.

Some infections have become resistant to antibiotics, and if not caught early and aggressively treated, can be fatal.

The Butler VA Center has confirmed the completion of the report, but also will not release details contained in it.

Rick Cotter, acting director for the medical center, said Friday he is not permitted to release any specific details of the report due to patient confidentiality laws. A similar claim was made by the inspector general's office when announcing that the investigation had been completed.

Cotter said the one thing he could disclose is good news for the center.

"We're in compliance with CDC guidelines," he said.

The review, Cotter said, gave him the chance to make improvements to the center's policies concerning staff infections, including better education for families of patients about the bacterial infection and increased screening of new patients to make sure they do not carry the bacteria.

"No one will be refused treatment if they do have (staph), but we will just deal with it differently now to protect our existing patients," Cotter said.

Following the deaths, Dr. Robert Muder, chief of infection control for VA-Pittsburgh, said the Butler VA Center seemed to be following proper procedures before the two patients became infected with staph.

Results of the report, although not made public, confirm the center was following proper procedure, Cotter said.

Stevenson's widow, Gertrude, said Friday morning she hasn't seen the official report.

"All I heard was that it was completed," she said.

Gertrude Stevenson said she was told by VA officials when the investigation began that once it was completed, she and her attorney would be called to a meeting with VA officials, at which time the results of the investigation would be shared.

So far, neither she nor her attorney has received notification of that meeting.

McKnight's family could not be located for comment.

Results of an investigation could be made public had they been done by an independent agency. But the only way for an outside agency to be able to do a similar investigation would be if the families of the men who died filed a lawsuit against the VA, Cyprian said.

Cyprian said he has had no contact with the families since the inspection was reported to be complete.

Despite his frustration over not knowing the details, Cyprian said it would not deter him from filing complaints in the future.

"I will continue to do my job," he said.