Bedford VA Medical Center ~ Stakeholders Operational Update ~ Friday, May 1, 2020

Bedford VA Medical Center does not take the deaths of our Veterans lightly. The past few days have been very difficult as we saw more losses, not only due to COVID-19, but to life itself. Our residents become like family and we grieve for each loss. When we can gather together again without social distancing, Bedford VAMC will host a memorial roll call and celebration of life for those we have lost during the pandemic. We hope you’ll join us.

Current Case Count
Our cumulative COVID-19 positive data as of 10:30 a.m. is 73 inpatient Veterans, 28 outpatient Veterans, 80 employees, 11 deaths related to COVID-19 at Bedford VAMC plus nine COVID-related deaths of Bedford patients at other medical locations (i.e. West Roxbury, VA Boston, Lahey Hospital, etc).

Good News!
We also bring you good news. A 93-year-old World War II Veteran recovered from COVID-19 and was released from Bedford VAMC this week to return to his residence at a non-VA long-term care facility. Our nursing staff gave him a rousing send off via Facebook Live.

Responding to the Pandemic
The Incident Command Center continues to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, continuously reviewing, sharing and implementing best practices. VA Boston has just begun manufacturing 3D printed swabs onsite using medical grade 3D printers and is working with Bedford VAMC so we can establish the same process here.

We’re updating our standard operating procedures to reflect COVID-19 operations and are beginning to ascertain what recovery operations may look like. Meanwhile, we’ll continue to conduct ongoing screening and testing and notify families of Veterans with the test results.

Connect with the Bedford VAMC
The CLC Family Hotline is available to families and health care proxies of our community living center residents from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. Messages left on the Hotline voicemail outside these hours will be routinely checked and responded to as soon as possible. Families can also request updates via email at [email protected]. Medical information about a resident will only be shared with the authorized health care proxy on file.