Arizona is home to three Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care facilities and dozens of Community Based Outpatient Clinics or CBOCs where hundreds of thousands of eligible veterans receive their health care.
During the COVID-19 crisis of 2020, VA has directed all of these facilities to do the following:
- They are establishing protocols to limit the number of entrances and set up effective screening procedures.
- They are asking veterans to call in before showing up for their appointments or urgent needs if they have symptoms of Coronavirus (fever, cough, shortness of breath, or other flu-like symptoms).
- It is encouraging veterans to take advantage of telehealth and other distance-care services when possible.
VA has also stopped visitors at nursing homes, and they are making special arrangements for families of Veterans in hospice care.
To help veterans who use VA to get more specific information, we’d like to share what the facilities are posting online. The info is as follows:
Phoenix VA Health Care System and Clinics:
- Onsite, standardized screening questions at strategic entry points, and during initial clinical screening.
- Suggesting you arrive early for appointments and limit the number of people you bring with you.
- They are moving patients into their system through three entrances: the 7th Street/Emergency Department, North ACC/valet entrance, and South ACC/parking garage entrance.
- Anyone with flu-like symptoms may call 602-277-5551.
- You can view updated facility information online at https://www.phoenix.va.gov.
Southern Arizona (Tucson) VA Health Care System and Clinics:
- All visitors and patients who enter the Tucson VA Medical Center or CBOCs will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms.
- To view a map of the COVID-19 Screening locations at the Emergency Department and other areas, go to their online map at https://www.tucson.va.gov/docs/COVD19Map.pdf.
- If you have flu-like symptoms such as fever, cough, and shortness of breath, call the VA Desert Pacific Healthcare Network (VISN 22) Nurse Advice Line at 1 (877) 252-4866 before you visit your local medical center or community clinic.
- You can view updated facility information online at https://www.tucson.va.gov/
Northern Arizona (Prescott) VA Health Care System and Clinics
- Veterans and caregivers entering the Prescott VA Medical Center Campus will enter via a single point of entry located at the front (main) gate and will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms upon entry.
- They actively encourage veterans to limit family members accompanying them to their appointments to immediate caregivers only.
- VA employees will not be screened but must still enter the Campus through the front gate.
- The screenings may lengthen entry times, so patients must allow for extra time when arriving for their appointments.
- You can view updated facility information online at https://www.prescott.va.gov/
VA is asking all eligible veterans who receive VA health care to keep up to date with the latest COVID-19 information online at https://www.publichealth.va.gov/n-coronavirus/index.asp and https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.
