The Department of Veterans Affairs is beginning to divide its inpatient units into two zones to separate non-infectious patients from those with novel coronavirus, officials said. And when the need arises, as the new phased plan predicts it will, officials plan to discharge non-critical patients and even build new facilities.
The plan is part of a four-phased pandemic response blueprint released Friday, weeks after the VA was criticized for not publicly disclosing its plan to help veterans and the federal government respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The VA is currently in Phase 2, “Initial Response,” which means staff are focusing on mitigating local or regional outbreaks by creating two zones.
