In the first publicly released agency plan of its kind for returning to normal operations, the VA has outlined conditions for changing some of the special personnel and operating policies it has been using due to the pandemic.
The announcement comes as agencies in general appear to be feeling their way toward bringing back to regular workplaces the far larger than normal numbers of employees who have been teleworking or in various types of leave status.
The IRS remains the lead agency on that score, with thousands of employees—the exact number is uncertain—having returned on a voluntary basis over the last two weeks with pay incentives that vary according to the nature of the work. Also, the Census Bureau has restarted some field office operations in which workers confirm or update a household’s physical location address and then leave a census questionnaire packet.
Several other agencies meanwhile apparently have been recalling political appointees and certain other senior employees, although those numbers would be relatively small.
While the VA has seen a workload surge with an influx of covid patients, including some who are not veterans, it has limited some types of medical care and has put many non-medical personnel on telework status. Under its plan, medical facilities will be considered in Phase 1 once certain local conditions are met including falling numbers of patients exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms, reduced numbers of people testing positive for the virus, and increased testing capacity.
“Once these and other conditions are met, local VA facilities will maintain their current risk-mitigation activities (such as continued telework when possible) but may also begin assessing how best to permit elective procedures and resume certain face-to-face visits that have been postponed,” the VA said. “Phase 2 of the plan is the resumption of services that have been postponed, again as deemed possible based on local conditions, and subject to safety protocols deemed as necessary by local staff.
“In Phase 3, VA facilities will again allow visitors to hospitals, community living centers, senior living facilities, and spinal cords injury and disorder units after a full assessment of the risks and only amid continuing improvement in their part of the country. Most VA employees will also return to work in this phase.”
VA’s cemeteries, benefit administrators and Board of Veterans Appeals will use the same approach in determining when and how to resume activities such as interments and face-to-face meetings with veterans about their status, it said.
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VA Issues Plan for More Normal Operations; Others to Follow Suit - FEDweek
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