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Press Release

Trump to Speak to Military Families as Botched Response Leaves Urgent Shortages At Veterans’ Hospitals

By April 1, 2020No Comments

Trump to Speak to Military Families as Botched Response Leaves Urgent Shortages At Veterans’ Hospitals

Today, Donald Trump will participate in a phone call with military families defending his response to the coronavirus pandemic. Below is a rundown of how the Trump administration has failed to prepare for the spread of the virus, and how military families, active duty personnel, and veterans and families are struggling as a result.

Trump’s VA faces “insufficient” supply of medications, staff, and equipment amidst the coronavirus crisis:

  • A Federal Watchdog Report Underscored That The Department Of Veterans Affairs May Have “Insufficient” Medications To Manage, Treat, And Sedate Patients Infected With COVID-19.  

    • The VA’s Office of Inspector General published: “Challenges exist in determining adequate supplies of medication to care for COVID-19 infected patients. In that no medications are currently proven to treat COVID-19, several medications are under active investigation, and if proven effective, may significantly increase the demand of medications typically stocked in low volumes. Additionally, the inventory of medications used to (1) manage symptoms, (2) treat critically ill patients to support cardiovascular functions, and (3) sedate intubated patients may be insufficient.” [Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, 3/26/20]

  • Only 71 Percent Of Medical Centers Inspected By The VA’s Office Of Inspector General Were “Generally Adequate” For Coronavirus Screening.

    • The VA’s Office of Inspector General published a report on the Veterans Health Administration’s screening processes and readiness for the coronavirus crisis: “The OIG determined that 41 of the 58 (71 percent) visited medical centers’ screening processes were generally adequate; 16 of the 58 (28 percent) medical centers had some opportunities for improvement.1 One facility, the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System, had inadequate screening processes.” [Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, 3/26/20]

  • Department Of Veterans Affairs Office Of Inspector General: “Facility Leaders Expressed Concerns Related To Supplies Needed To Test Patients For COVID-19.”

    • “Anticipating equipment and supply needs is challenging as it is unclear when COVID-19 will reach its peak in the United States and ultimately test the capacity of healthcare systems to care for patients who require prolonged, high-level inpatient, and often, intensive care. At the time of this OIG inspection, facility leaders expressed concerns related to supplies needed to test patients for COVID-19. They also acknowledged low inventory of personal protective equipment for staff. Of note, leaders at two facilities—Durham VA Medical Center, and John D. Dingle VA Medical Center, Detroit, Michigan—reported shortages of mechanical ventilators.” [Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, 3/26/20]

  • Facing PPE Shortages, The Veterans Affairs Medical Center In Brooklyn Instructed Staff To Use One N95 Mask Per 12-Hour Shift, Instead Of The Normal Protocol Of Changing Masks After Every Patient.

    • “A shortage of protective equipment is further exacerbating the risk to healthcare workers on the front lines of the pandemic. Maria Lobifaro, a New York intensive care unit (ICU) nurse treating veterans with COVID-19, said they normally change masks after every patient interaction. Now, they are getting one N95 mask to use for an entire 12-hour shift. The ratio of patients to nurses in the ICU is usually two-to-one. As of Monday it was already four-to-one, she said.” [Reuters, 3/27/20]

  • Government Executive: With Coronavirus Cases Spiking, VA Struggles To Protect Employees And Screen Patients. [Government Executive, 3/27/20]

  • ProPublica: The Veterans Health Administration Has Banned Even Administrative Employees From Working From Home. [ProPublica, 3/20/20]

  • Military.Com: Military’s Plan to Cut 18,000 Medical Staff Should Be Shelved During Pandemic, MOAA Says. [Military.Com, 3/31/20]

    • “The Military Officers Association of America has joined growing calls in Congress for the Pentagon to scrap or at least postpone plans to cut staff at military hospitals and send retirees out into the community for health care during the novel coronavirus epidemic. The Defense Health Agency’s plans appear to be especially misguided at a time when local hospitals and clinics are being overwhelmed in certain parts of the country with COVID-19 patients, MOAA said in a statement.” [Military.Com, 3/31/20]

  • Military Times: VA Leaders Warn Of Workforce Shortages, Lengthy Pandemic As Coronavirus Cases Rise. [Military Times, 3/27/20]

  • Military Times: Military Nurse Advice Line Flooded With Coronavirus Calls, 2-Hour Wait Frustrates Families. [Military Times, 3/17/20]

  • Capital Gazette: Veterans Affairs Closes All Clinics In Maryland As Coronavirus Spreads. [Capital Gazette, 3/27/20]

  • New York Times: V.A. Criticized For Effort To Keep Some Veterans Away From Private Care During Outbreak. [New York Times, 3/25/20]

    • “That program, known as the Mission Act, permits veterans to seek primary care and mental health services outside the department’s system if they can prove they must drive at least 30 minutes to a Department of Veterans Affairs facility. The network of private providers and urgent care centers had been slowly expanding this year as those standards went into effect.” [New York Times, 3/25/20]

    • “But concerns arose that at-risk veterans seeking outside care could expose themselves to the coronavirus or tax strained private health care resources. So this week, a department official emailed the House and Senate committees on veterans’ affairs to say the department ‘proposes a temporary strategic pause in the Mission Act access standards for 90 days, or until the soonest possible time that routine care may safely resume.’ The email said that ‘enforcement of the access standards will resume when routine care resumes.’” [New York Times, 3/25/20]

Trump’s inaction on coronavirus has put America’s active duty personnel at risk:

  • The Hill: Pentagon Orders Military Bases To Stop Releasing Specific COVID-19 Numbers. [The Hill, 3/30/20]

  • Washington Times: Clear And Present Danger: COVID-19 Rippling Through The Ranks Is Crippling U.S. Military Strength. [Washington Times, 3/31/20]

  • Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus Spread On Aircraft Carrier Theodore Roosevelt Is Accelerating, Captain Says. [Los Angeles Times, 4/1/20]

    • “In the letter published by the San Francisco Chronicle, Capt. Brett Crozier said there were two possible outcomes for the ship and its crew: remove the crew from the ship and disinfect it, or ‘maximize warfighting readiness’ to redeploy as quickly as possible. If the Navy chooses the second option, ‘there will be losses to the virus,’ Crozier wrote in his letter, which was sent Sunday to Pacific Fleet commanders.”  [Los Angeles Times, 4/1/20]

  • Kitsap Sun: Navy Barred By Pentagon From Disclosing Coronavirus Cases While Carrier Outbreak Continues. [Kitsap Sun, 3/31/20]

Trump’s failure to prepare the VA has led to tragic, avoidable deaths: 

  • New York Times: Coronavirus Spreads in Veterans’ Home, Leaving ‘Shuddering Loss for Us All.’ [New York Times, 3/31/20]

  • NPR: 11 Veterans Die At Soldiers’ Home in Massachusetts Amid COVID-19 Outbreak. [NPR, 3/31/20]

  • ABC News: Novel Coronavirus Cases Among Veterans Spike As Testing Expands Through VA Network. [ABC News, 3/30/20]

  • KEZI: Lebanon Veterans’ Home Reports Second Coronavirus Death. [KEZI, 3/30/20]

  • Stars And Stripes: Coronavirus Deaths At VA Hospitals Tripled Over The Weekend. [Stars and Stripes, 3/30/20]

  • Reuters: New York Veterans Hospital, Struggling With Coronavirus Outbreak, Asked To Help Civilians. [Reuters, 3/27/20]

    • “The Department of Veterans Affairs is struggling to provide enough staffing and equipment for former vets hospitalized with the coronavirus illness in New York City, nursing union representatives say, yet some lawmakers are pressing the agency to treat civilians as well.” [Reuters, 3/27/20]

    • “The VA has a legal mandate to provide civilian care in an emergency. But the agency is facing the same surge in COVID-19 patients as other hospitals throughout New York, raising serious questions about whether it can expand it services, said Corey Lanham, VA Division Director for National Nurses United (NNU). ‘I don’t know where the staff to cover all these patients is going to come from, and I don’t think they know either,’ Lanham said.” [Reuters, 3/27/20]

    • “James Fitzgerald, deputy director of the New York City Veterans Alliance, said veterans are particularly susceptible to upper respiratory conditions. The positive test results among Brooklyn staff underscore the need for the VA to be transparent about its capacity, staffing, and steps to protect doctors and nurses. ‘The veterans’ community deserves more,’ Fitzgerald said.” [Reuters, 3/27/20]