“America will again, and soon, be open for business,”
President Trump had said. “We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem
itself.” That was on March 23, the same day that the Norfolk-based
Virginian-Pilot published a letter from Sheila Elliott, a long-time pharmacist
at the nearby Hampton Veterans Affairs hospital, criticizing the Department of
Veterans Affairs for “the haphazard way in which COVID-19 is being handled.”
The VA, she wrote, “was at the front lines of providing invaluable assistance”
to victims of Hurricane Katrina and the Ebola epidemic, but “this time, VA
workers are facing a scarcity of everything from masks to hand sanitizer to
test kits.”
As the coronavirus pandemic rips through America, the VA is
preparing to fulfill its statutory role as a backup civilian healthcare system
when the private sector becomes overloaded. Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert
Wilkie announced last week that the department would open up 1,500 hospital
beds across the country for civilians diagnosed with Covid-19. But as the VA ramps
up this critical support, its clinicians must also continue treating more than
nine million veterans, many of whom are particularly susceptible to the
coronavirus due to their age and underlying conditions, including respiratory
illnesses brought on by exposure to Agent Orange or burn pits.
There’s reason to be hopeful that the VA can meet these
challenges. Contrary to popular belief, the department generally delivers care
that’s as good or better than the private sector’s. As for-private hospitals
continue to schedule lucrative tummy tucks and other non-essential services,
the VA has swiftly canceled elective procedures in order to free up staff and
resources for emergency care. While the private sector system is furloughing
staff, the VA is expediting hiring practices and ramping up compensation. New
York Governor Andrew Cuomo had to strong-arm private hospitals to coordinate on
care and equipment, but the VA has long run a highly integrated national
network where staff and supplies can be shifted quickly to help quell the
virus.
But the VA’s many strengths are being undercut by the Trump
administration’s attacks on federal workers’ rights. Elliott—who, in addition
to having worked at the VA for 30 years, is the daughter of a World War II Navy
veteran and president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)
Local 2328—told me that VA leaders were ignoring labor leaders’ concerns and
recommendations for workplace safety. As a result, decisions were being made
seemingly arbitrarily, some staff assigned to Elliott’s hospital’s Covid-19
unit were not properly trained, and safety protections had not been ensured.
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