Kansas City, Mo. ? A Veterans Affairs hospital scrutinized after allegations that maggots infested the noses of two comatose patients appears to have made significant improvements, Sen. Kit Bond said Monday.

The Missouri Republican toured the medical facility and noted the improvements, which included adding housekeeping staff and removing old carpet and sisal wall coverings. Sisal, a course material that resembles burlap, can harbor dust and germs.

“The changes look like this place has really improved,” said Bond, who added that his tour was a follow up on reports he had received that the hospital had made “the necessary changes.”

A March 25 report in the Archives of Internal Medicine said maggots infested the nostrils of two patients in 1998, around the same time that mice were so common in the hospital that some nurses cared for them as pets.

After the report, Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony J. Principi apologized to Kansas City veterans. A team of 23 inspectors probed the hospital and declared it “dirty” after finding mouse droppings and dead flies.

Since then, the hospital has started a nearly $10 million cleanup effort, expected to take about 15 to 18 months. The VA administrative region based in Kansas City, which is responsible for overseeing eight veterans medical centers in Kansas, Missouri and Illinois, is funding this year’s improvements through a reserve fund.

Bond, the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the Department of Veterans Affairs, said the hospital’s problems did not stem from a lack of funding.

“I believe the resources were adequate, but that they were not being utilized properly,” Bond said.