VA plans to ease services open
The VA Butler Health Care System will begin welcoming more patients back to its facilities as Butler County enters the green phase of the governor's coronavirus protocol.
The VA announced Wednesday it would begin to reintroduce health care services June 15.
“The safety of veterans and staff is the highest priority when we consider how we provide health care services and procedures during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” said Kevin Amick, director of the Butler VA.
“VA will take into account guidance from various agencies including federal, state and local government as we gradually reintroduce health care services. As a high reliability organization, safety is always paramount and will continue to guide our decision making.”
The health care facility began restricting the number of people entering its facilities in mid-March when the state issued orders to isolate and reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The facility had transferred most of their medical appointments to telehealth amid other practices to maintain physical distancing.
The system operates the Abie Abraham VA Health Care Center in Center Township and the Sergeant Joseph George Kusick VA Community Living Center in Butler Township.
The telehealth options will continue to be used even as patients are brought in for non-urgent procedures.
Screening protocols also will continue to be used, according to Paula McCarl, VA spokeswoman. Safety measures, including employee and veteran COVID-19 screening, physical distancing, appropriate personal protective attire such as face coverings and frequent disinfection of high-touch services, will remain in place at all VA facilities.
At the end of March, the Butler VA suspended all voluntary services and for now that won't change. The system would normally have more than 200 volunteers who would typically support a number of needs such as driving veterans to and from appointments.
The absence of volunteers is just one way virus precautions have changed the operations of the Butler VA. In an attempt to restore some normalcy, the residential facility began using robotic pets.
McCarl couldn't say when the facilities would return to normal completely, explaining that it depends on how these partial measures work.
Carey Wallace of West Sunbury is among the volunteers who would visit the veterans. She used to bring her therapy dog, Jax, every Tuesday to the VA's community residential center. She hopes that she will be able to bring Jax and her new addition, Ivory, to the center soon.
When the suspension of the services was first announced, it took Wallace and Jax some time to adjust.
“I was really upset for my dog. He loves to work. He knows when it's time to go to work and he knows where we're going,” Wallace said. “We went to Lowe's the other day and he started pawing and crying. He knew where he was supposed to be.”
But more importantly, Wallace felt bad for the veterans who had come to rely on the regular visits from the dog.
“We feel bad for the vets because they really depend on the dogs,” Wallace said. “It's very important the work they do there. I'm hopeful we'll get to work soon.”
