August 21, 2020 3:40 a.m.

On Thursday, Congressman Peter DeFazio sent a letter to Roseburg VA Health Care System Director Keith Allen, urging him to engage in more robust communications with community partners to keep them informed and engaged on issues facing local veterans, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A release from DeFazio said that includes local Veterans Service Organizations, and Oregon’s congressional delegation.

DeFazio said, “In the midst of a global pandemic and the roll-out of two major programs, I am very concerned that you and the Roseburg VA Health Care System have not held any VSO-CODEL meetings since March, have routinely cancelled regular check-ins and do not intend to hold the next meeting until September”. DeFazio said in particular, he is troubled that the Roseburg VA stopped providing COVID-19 data only a few weeks after the health care system started making that information available to the Oregon congressional delegation and community Veteran Service Officers.

DeFazio said there are also ongoing questions around what COVID-19 data is being reported to local public health authorities and the potential consequences of incomplete data for southwest Oregon.

The release said DeFazio’s office has also heard daily from veterans about reductions in services for mental and dental health care. It said community partners, including the Douglas County Veterans Forum, have requested greater insight into issues facing the Roseburg VA, including the impact of the U.S. Postal Service changes on the delivery of prescription drugs to veterans.