VA health care sites in N.C. and Va. return to normal operations
September 8, 2008

Durham- After a period of heavy rain and high winds in the eastern part of North Carolina and Virginia over the weekend, all VA Mid-Atlantic health Care Network (VISN 6) sites of care returned to fully operational status, Monday.  VA leaders reported no significant damage to facilities and no adverse effects on personnel in the areas impacted by Hurricane Hanna.   

Throughout the period before, during, and after this hurricane, VISN 6 emergency management personnel maintained communication with Network leaders and with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Joint Operations Center.   

Three employees from Richmond VA Medical Center and two from Fayetteville VA Medical Center deployed to assist in the Federal Medical Station (FMS) at Ruston, Louisiana during Hurricane Gustav operations.  These individuals are now returning to their home stations.   

As VA prepares for Hurricane Ike, a team of individuals from VISN 6 sites in Richmond, Salem, and Hampton is prepared to deploy to Atlanta on Tuesday in support of operations in the wake of this latest storm.   

VISN 6 Director Daniel F. Hoffmann, FACHE, noted, “We are thankful that our facilities and our personnel were not seriously affected by Hurricane Hanna.  I want to express my appreciation to our emergency management personnel and to our medical center and clinic leaders.  They were proactive in preparing for this storm and for maintaining operations throughout this period.  I also want to thank those veterans for their cooperation who were affected by clinic closures on Friday and Saturday.  Our focus was on taking all prudent steps necessary to assure continuity of care for our veterans and the safety of our staff.  All of our sites are up and running again as of Monday morning.”   

VISN 6 serves over 307,000 veterans annually across North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.  The Network includes eight VA Medical Centers and 16 outpatient clinics operated by over 11,000 staff assisted by more than 4,000 volunteers.  In recent national performance measure reports, VISN 6 ranked at the top among all VHA Networks for clinical quality.  The Network is focused on excellent service—earned by veterans and delivered by a professional team of clinical providers who have compassion for the special needs of those who have served our Nation in uniform!