Patients at the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center and VA Bay Pines Health Care System on Florida's western coast in the Tampa Bay area were evacuated this week as VA facilities across the state prepared Wednesday for powerful Hurricane Milton to make landfall.
Dozens of VA hospitals and clinics in the Sunshine State have altered hours and canceled appointments in anticipation of the storm, one of the strongest cyclones ever recorded in the Atlantic region to strike the U.S., with winds reaching 180 mph at its peak earlier this week.
Bay Pines patients, who were in a mandatory evacuation zone, were transferred to the James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa, according to Roderick R. Cunningham, director of communications at the Tampa VA.
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Cunningham said his facility, which is not in an evacuation zone, remains open for emergencies, but all appointments and care sites will be closed through Oct. 10. He declined to say how many patients and Bay Pines system residents were transferred to the Tampa facility.
As of Wednesday midday, Hurricane Militon was a Category 4 storm, with sustained winds of 155 mph. It was expected to make landfall along Florida's Gulf Coast, with hurricane warnings issued from the state's Big Bend region to south of Sarasota, according to the National Hurricane Center.
With a slight shift, the storm appeared to be heading toward the Sarasota area.
VA Secretary Denis McDonough issued a statement Tuesday urging veterans to evacuate and call the department for information on services and health care.
"To all veterans in the storm's path: listen to your local officials. If you are told to evacuate, evacuate immediately -- for your safety and that of your loved ones," McDonough wrote in a statement issued on VA social media pages.
According to the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs and official social media sites, the following federal VA medical centers and clinics have canceled appointments and have limited hours:
- Bay Pines: Campus closed through Oct. 15.
- Tampa VA: Closed for in-person appointments through Oct. 10; emergency department remains open.
- West Palm Beach VA Medical Center: Closed for in-person appointments on Oct. 10; emergency department open for critical needs.
- Orlando VA Medical Center: Closed through Oct. 10 for in-person appointments; emergency department open for critical needs.
- Malcom Randall and Lake City VA Medical Centers: Closed for in-person appointments through Oct 10; emergency departments open.
- Miami VA Health Care System: Fully operational.
- Veterans Benefits Administration offices in Florida will remain closed until Oct. 11.
The VA also activated its Emergency Prescription Refill Program for the Bay Pines, Tampa, Orlando and the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System, which allows veterans to go to any local retail pharmacy to obtain refills.
Veterans who receive VA prescription medications can take their empty, active VA prescription bottles or a new VA prescription to a retail pharmacy for a refill, with the exception of controlled substances.
The VA has more information for veterans on its website, as does the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs.
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