Teresa Morris, Director, Advocacy & Government Relations

Greetings NOVA Members –

NOVA continues to advocate for our nurses during these unusual times and we had a chance to provide our thoughts on how the VA responded to the COVID-19 Pandemic at a hearing held by the House VA Committee (June 11).

Thanks to those who responded to our two COVID -19 surveys, we were able to use the information as a firsthand look into how nurses felt about VA’s work and response during the Pandemic. The testimony touched on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), communication, testing and comments and concerns that you had during the height of the virus. We discussed the findings from the survey and thanked Congress for providing the $19.6 billion in emergency supplemental funding for VA. The funds helped to hire new staff, provide overtime pay, and purchase supplies needed for those caring for Veterans and other COVID patients.

We also discussed the importance of VA’s role and its 4^th Mission - providing backup health care for Veterans and civilians when called up during times of federal emergencies. The VA is asked to assist their Federal partners in providing healthcare expertise, emergency-ready personnel, supplies, and equipment to mobilize in disasters. A critical role which has been activated with staff mobilized in previous emergencies, including Hurricanes Maria (Puerto Rico) and Harvey (Houston) and during the California wildfires.

You can read our entire testimony which is available on the NOVA website – https://www.vanurse.org/news/512414/-NOVA-Submits-Testimony-to-House-VA-Committee-on-Pandemic-Progress.htm

In  case you missed it, I also want to call attention to a report  that was released in June by the White House that has ties to the VA and DOD. It is called The President's Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide (PREVENTS) report . The report is the work of a Task Force established by an Executive Order which the President signed in March 2019. The report  calls for a number of steps to be taken, including a nationwide public health campaign to change the culture around suicide and mental health.

The Task Force made ten recommendations of which many will be overseen by the VA. The recommendations include - Identifying and prioritizing suicide surveillance and research that focuses on a Veteran’s unique combination of individual, relationship, community, and societal factors; promoting foundational changes to the way research is conducted - including improving the speed and accuracy with which research is translated into practice by improving efficiency through data sharing and data curation practices; and developing effective partnerships across government agencies and non-government entities and organizations to increase capacity and impact of programs and research to empower Veterans and prevent suicide.

The entire report and recommendations can be found at: https://www.va.gov/PREVENTS/docs/PRE-007-The-PREVENTS-Roadmap-1-2_508.pdf

I urge you to continue to watch the NOVA website and follow us on social media for news on NOVA’s Annual Meeting – October 29-30. The NOVA Program Planning Committee has designed an extraordinary educational event this year – all focusing on providing outstanding care for our Nation’s Veterans. 

As always, all of the COVID news and resources continue to be available on the Department of Veterans Affairs and both House and Senate VA Committees’ websites and social media with up-to-date information on the pandemic for Veterans and those taking care of them.

Thank you again for all you do and for your heroism every day! 

Stay Tuned!