VA Palo Alto Health Care System

Situation Update

As of Monday, June 8, 2020 4:06 PM PDT

Phase 1: Reopening Operation Status

In accordance to the Veterans Health Administration’s Moving Forward Plan: Safe Care is Our Mission, VA Palo Alto Health Care System will begin implementing Phase 1 of our plan to slowly and safely transition some of our operations. It is important that we continue mitigation measures that have protected our patients and employees thus far.

Phase 1 will take place over the course of a month and began on June 1, 2020. Please review the schedule below to understand what will occur each week.

Phase I Recovery Plan Timeline

For the purposes of this timeline, Livermore Division (LVD) and Menlo Park Division (MPD) are considered part of the community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs).

Week 1 - June 1

Resuming Elective Surgeries/Procedures and Ancillary Services

• Operating Rooms and Interventional Procedure areas will reopen to 40% of normal operations
• Ancillary services at the Palo Alto Division (PAD) will be limited to Pharmacy, Radiology and Lab (current workload of these services will be based on need as they support other areas)
• Outdoor Lab and Pharmacy pick-up will continue at Palo Alto and Livermore Divisions

Week 2 - June 8

Palo Alto Division to Reopen Limited Specialty Care Services

• Specialty Care Services at PAD will reopen with in-person appointment capacity to 20%, limited to:
  Eye Care (Ophthalmology and Optometry)
  Dermatology
  Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT)
  Podiatry

Week 3 - June 15

Expanded Specialty Care at PAD and CBOCs

• Remaining Specialty Care Services at PAD will reopen with in-person appointment capacity limited to 20%
• Specialty Care at CBOCs will be limited to Dermatology, Eye Care Services and Podiatry, with in-person appointment capacity limited to 20%
• Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Chiropractic Services at all locations will reopen with in-person appointment capacity limited to 20%

Week 4 - June 22

Expanded Specialty Care at CBOCs

• Remaining Specialty Care Services at CBOCs will reopen with in-person appointment capacity limited to 20%

Week 5 - June 29

All Sites Resume Mental Health and Primary Care Services

• Mental Health Services at all locations will reopen with in-person appointment capacity limited to 20%
• Primary Care Services at all locations will reopen with in-person appointment capacity limited to 20%

For your safety:

• Screening checkpoints will continue with the addition of temperature reading
• Visitation remains closed except for Veterans who require a caregiver present and in compassionate cases
• Changes to waiting areas, limited elevator capacities, plexiglass panels and other precautionary measures will be implemented along with the reopening

This phased approach was designed with input from all of the affected services and the Incident Management Team to provide adequate support for a successful recovery. All clinics will remain at 20% capacity to enable monitoring of workflow, PPE burn rates and testing resources. Further increase in workload will be discussed at end of this phase. Please continue to look for updates in the Weekly COVID-19 Update.