{"id":32653,"date":"2020-03-23T17:03:39","date_gmt":"2020-03-23T17:03:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/03\/23\/coronavirus-threat-prompts-va-request-for-doctors-nurses-to-come-out-of-retirement\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T06:16:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T06:16:18","slug":"coronavirus-threat-prompts-va-request-for-doctors-nurses-to-come-out-of-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2020\/03\/23\/coronavirus-threat-prompts-va-request-for-doctors-nurses-to-come-out-of-retirement\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus threat prompts VA request for doctors, nurses to come out of retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the number of coronavirus cases within the Veterans Affairs medical system continues to climb<\/a>, department officials are reaching out to retired health care workers for help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On social media in recent days, VA leaders have reached out to retired VA clinicians and other federal healthcare providers with the same repeated plea: \u201cWE NEED YOU! Help us in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. Consider #VA re-employment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VA officials<\/a> are promising expedited hiring practices and dual compensation waivers for potential recruits, so that they don\u2019t have to give up federal retirement benefits in order to start assisting at department medical centers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of Monday, VA announced that at least 204 patients at 50 sites across the country have tested positive for the coronavirus, the spread of which has prompted massive social upheaval and community closures in America over the last few weeks. That\u2019s up from 130 cases on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far two VA patients have died, one in Vermont and one in Oregon. Worldwide, the death toll from the illness topped 15,000 over the weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said his department is preparing to deploy 3,000 medical staff and additional mobile medical units to bolster the national health response to the coronavirus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the department \u2014 which has more than 400,000 employees \u2014 already has about 44,000 medical vacancies spread throughout the Veterans Health Administration. VA leaders have said that normal attrition and a competitive market for medical professionals have made filling many of those positions difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\t