Phoenix VA System’s early COVID-19 actions saved lives
COVID-19 is a pandemic unlike anything America has seen in 100 years.
But the Phoenix VA Health Care System didn’t sit idly by as the virus spread. It took immediate actions that saved lives early and continued to keep veterans safe as the number of cases rose in Phoenix and surrounding areas in Arizona.
During my recent visit, the Phoenix VA showed me just how quickly they moved not only to protect veterans, but to care for non-veteran patients, including members of the Navajo Nation that were suffering from the virus.
After seeing the virus spread in New York and Washington state in late February and early March, Phoenix VA staff quickly decided to close access to its Community Living Center, the on-site nursing home it manages. They took this step on March 6, one week after Washington state reported its first COVID-19 death.
To protect our most vulnerable patients living in the nursing home, the
Phoenix VA limited visitor access to that part of its campus. It also split its staff into two groups — one dedicated to serving just residents and the other to treating COVID-19 patients in the main hospital and surrounding clinics.
These early moves would prove to be critical. As of early July, not a single Phoenix Community Living Center resident or staff member in that unit had tested positive for COVID-19. The isolation protocols put in place by VA staff have kept these residents safe even as cases continue to climb across the state — more than 50% of nursing homes in Arizona have seen positive COVID-19 tests among their residents.
(Just earlier this month, the Community Living Center residents were moved to a sister facility in or metro Phoenix facilities so that the center can be repurposed into a medical/surgical unit.)
By early April, VA staff had erected isolation tents in anticipation of needing more overflow space for patients. They have not yet been used to house inpatients, but these portable hospital units gave staff a place to triage and treat veterans with urgent care needs in order to limit access to the main building and further reduce the risk of exposure.
Staff also created a “drive-up” option that allows veterans to be served in their cars in a way that minimizes contact with other people. A drive-up pharmacy was established in late March that allowed veterans to pick up prescription drugs, and another service was set up for the safe pickup of medical equipment.
A few weeks later, a drive-up COVID-19 testing clinic was created, and a separate drive-up service was created at one of our community-based outpatient clinics to repair hearing aids.
These changes have made it easier for veterans to maintain maximum social distancing and prevent the spread of the virus while the Phoenix VA treated more than 150 veterans for COVID-19 over the last five months.
The efficiency that the Phoenix VA demonstrated during the pandemic allowed these staff members to participate in VA’s “Fourth Mission,” which is to support the entire nation in times of medical emergency.
Phoenix took on three assignments to help non-veterans during the pandemic, two of which saw VA nurses dispatched to assist those in the Navajo Nation who contracted the virus.
From the very founding of this country, Native Americans have contributed to our shared cause of freedom and liberty. They have been part of our fighting forces since the first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired in Lexington, Mass., and they serve in America’s military at a higher per capita rate than any other ethnic group.
I’m thankful that the Phoenix VA was able to contribute to the well-being of this community during the emergency.
COVID-19 has tested America, and it will continue to do so in the weeks and months ahead. But the Phoenix VA has shown what the department is capable of by anticipating change, mobilizing people and resources, and remaining committed to the task President Lincoln set before us so many years ago: protecting those who protected us.