VVA Chapter PI 887

Allen “Pop” Reeves American Legion Post 123

FROM VA MANILA:

We are very pleased to share some positive updates with you all regarding our operating status. Effective November 23, 2020, VA Manila will be expanding our available in-person appointments to include 5-day/week primary care availability. The US Embassy recently approved VA Manila’s plan to expand our on-site staffing presence from 50% to 80% – and with this approved additional staffing, we can now provide daily primary care appointments for all of our primary care teams.

While we will have all of our primary care providers reporting daily, we will still be limiting the number of Veterans who are reporting to the Clinic on a daily basis to ensure we can enforce physical distancing within the Clinic. To that end, our primary care providers will offer in-person appointments for half of the day and continue to offer telephone appointments the other half of the day. I anticipate that we will continue to provide this level of service for the next several months, until there is more containment of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, and the availability of a vaccine.

So, what does this mean for you?

If you have a primary care appointment scheduled in the next few months, between now and February 28, 2021, please contact VA Manila to discuss the available options for your medical appointment. If you would like to have your appointment in person, your Medical Support Assistant (scheduler) can coordinate this for you. Since providers will only be seeing patients in-person for half of the day, we appreciate your flexibility if your previously scheduled appointment was for the afternoon, but your provider is now seeing patients in the morning. You can also wait for our scheduling staff to contact you. All Veterans will receive a call approximately 1 week before your scheduled appointment to confirm your attendance and to complete a brief pre-appointment healthcare screening.