October 2, 2020 11:15 a.m.

Staff with the Roseburg VA Medical Center are responding to questions from Congressman Peter DeFazio regarding COVID-19 cases connected to their facility, after seven cases were recently reported.

Public Affairs Officer Tim Parish told News Radio 1240 KQEN its important to note that no veterans receiving direct inpatient care at a Roseburg VA facility have contracted coronavirus due to “extremely safe protocols that have protected our most vulnerable veteran population”. Parish said staff has maintained daily contact with county, state and federal response teams and other stakeholders to keep the public informed and implement the processes and procedures that have kept the coronavirus largely out of their facilities.

Parish said along with the 7 active cases there have been a total of 25 cases now classified as convalescent since the pandemic began.

Parish said the Roseburg VA has put rigorous safety measures in place at its facilities, including employee and veteran COVID-19 screening, physical distancing and appropriate personal protective equipment such as face coverings. He said they are also continuing to maximize the personalized virtual care options of telehealth, phone consults, and wellness checks. Parish said those services have been a valuable link to veterans “…during this challenging time”.

The average turnaround time for COVID-19 tests that the local VA conducts is four to 48 hours, depending on the type of test performed, according to Parish. He said they have adequate PPE for current demand. Parish said their Employee Occupational Health and Infection Prevention teams track and log both veteran and employee testing results each day.