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Sen. Casey presses VA to protect staff during COVID-19 pandemic

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Sen. Casey presses VA to protect staff during COVID-19 pandemic

Letter came after complaints from Pittsburgh VA staff and others

Following numerous complaints from staff at the Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System and two other VA medical centers in Pennsylvania, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey on Wednesday sent VA Secretary Robert Wilkie a letter asking him to tell staff what the VA is doing to procure more personal protective equipment to protect them from COVID-19.

“I urge you to work quickly to ensure that VA employees across Pennsylvania have access to adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), are provided safe workspaces, are equipped for telework capabilities wherever possible and have consistent guidance from VA hospital directors regarding leave policies,” he wrote to Mr. Wilkie.

Mr. Casey’s letter comes after employees and the union representing most of the staff at the Pittsburgh VA detailed to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Monday the shortages of facemasks, gowns, hand sanitizer and even disinfectant wipes that have made them concerned not only for their safety, but their own families’ and the patients they work with in the VA.

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Many of the concerns Mr. Casey expressed in the letter are occurring not just at VA medical centers in Pennsylvania, but at VA medical centers all over the country.

“My office has heard from VA employees across Pennsylvania who have cited PPE shortages and inconsistent application of leave and social distancing policies. Specifically, I have received reports of screeners at VA facilities not being provided appropriate PPE or training on its use, the placement of limits on or required re-use of masks and insufficient cleaning and sanitization of workspaces,” Mr. Casey wrote. 

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Here is a copy of the letter sent by Sen. Bob Casey:

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Those concerns are similar to the concerns employees at the Pittsburgh VA expressed to the Post-Gazette, concerns that the union representing staff in Pittsburgh say were exacerbated by poor communication to employees, and the Pittsburgh VA management refusing to let the union answer emails or even talk to employees at work to clarify the confusing messages, union officials have said.

Mr. Casey acknowledged that problem, writing: “I urge you to communicate clearly, not only with local VA directors but also with VA workers, regarding what efforts the VA is taking to procure adequate PPE for VA facilities and to continue retrofitting VA facilities to implement all relevant workplace safety guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Occupational Safety and Health Administration.”

“Frontline VA workers who are working tirelessly for Pennsylvania’s veterans must be equipped with sufficient resources and must receive clear guidelines from their employers in this uncertain time. That is the least we can do to acknowledge their service,” Mr. Casey said in his letter.

Sean D. Hamill: shamill@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2579 or Twitter: @SeanDHamill

First Published: April 30, 2020, 4:55 p.m.

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