WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema urged the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to expedite the expansion of the tele-Critical Care program to Prescott and Tucson for veterans needing lifesaving intensive care services during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Rapidly expanding the VA’s tele-Critical Care services to Prescott and Tucson will help ensure veterans receive lifesaving health care during the coronavirus pandemic,” said Sinema.
In June, the VA announced it would expand the tele-Critical Care program to VA Medical Centers across the country. This program will ensure that veterans receiving treatment in VA Medical Center intensive care units (tele-ICUs) are monitored by board certified clinicians and experienced critical care nurses. The Phoenix VA Medical Center currently benefits from this technology and has seen improved outcomes for Arizona veterans.
Through the Phoenix VA’s participation in the VA’s tele-Critical Care national program, tele-ICU staff can monitor if a patient’s condition becomes unstable and directly communicate with bedside staff in Phoenix to ensure the best possible care and improved patient outcomes. Unfortunately, veterans in Prescott and Tucson VA Medical Centers currently do not yet have access to this lifesaving technology. Sinema’s letter urges the VA to expedite the expansion of tele-ICU technology to the VA Medical Centers in Prescott and Tucson.
Click HERE to read Sinema’s letter.
In August, the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee approved Sinema’s bipartisan Nursing Home Care for Native American Veterans Act, which supports the construction of veteran nursing homes on tribal lands, and the bipartisan VA Mission Telehealth Clarification Act, which allows VA health trainees to train on and utilize the VA telehealth system to reduce the spread of the coronavirus and save lives.
