Kansas VA hospitals to open beds to non-veteran COVID patients as hospitals struggle to find space

WIBW | Sarah Motter

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - VA hospitals in Kansas have opened their beds to non-veteran COVID patients to help with the influx as the state weathers the throws of the latest Omicron-fueled surge.

Kansas’s Senior U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) says he commends Kansas VA hospitals who plan to help in their Fourth Mission role to provide backup care to Kansas hospitals that need additional support to care for COVID patients.

Sen. Moran said the VA plays a crucial role in the nation’s health care safety net. Throughout the pandemic, he said he has worked to ensure the VA has the resources needed to support health care systems.

“Thank you to the Kansas VA hospitals and VA health care personnel who are assisting medical facilities across the state and to all of our health care workers who continue to care for Kansans while experiencing bed and staff shortages,” Moran said.

Additionally, Moran said 80 members of the Kansas National Guard have been sent to provide statewide COVID-19 relief efforts. He said their service will support the Sunflower State’s health care workers on the frontlines fighting the pandemic.

According to Moran, Kansas hospitals in need of beds for non-veteran COVID patients will be allowed to submit patient transfer requests through Kansas Mission Control. He said Mission Control and the VA will then work to find the best possible receiving facility for the patient.

For more information about Kansas VA hospitals, click HERE.