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Sheridan , WY — The Sheridan VA Medical Center will be temporarily changing access to services typically addressed in urgent care on June 13, in order to shift staff currently assigned there

to support other patient care areas. Veterans will still be able to access walk-in care provided by the primary care providers from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for non-emergency issues.  The best

way for Veterans to access this care is to call ahead to their patient care team by using 307-672-3473, then choose option #2 twice. However, if an advance call is not possible, or a Veteran

is not assigned to a patient aligned care team, he or she may come to Building 71 where they normally check-in for regular appointments.   BACKGROUND  Safe patient care is the VA’s first

priority, which requires appropriate staffing to be in place.  The nationwide nursing shortage and departure of nursing teammates locally has caused significant overtime for the Sheridan

VA’s current, dedicated nursing teammates.    These national and local issues have evolved over time and the Sheridan VA Health Care System leadership team has continued to look for

temporary and long-term solutions for this fluid situation. The key is hiring qualified professionals to fill those positions, and even though new nursing staff are currently going through

the orientation process, there are still significant hiring needs.  Therefore, staff currently assigned to the Urgent Care department, along with some nursing staff in other medical units

will be temporarily re-assigned to other areas of the facility to best meet patient care needs and maintain a healthy workload for nursing staff. Some inpatient medical units will also have

a decrease in patient census (determined by current averages of patient use) to support this balancing of care and staffing.  ###  THE SHERIDAN VA HEALTH CARE SYSTEM SERVES VETERANS ACROSS

THREE QUARTERS OF WYOMING   AND THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION. BESIDES A MEDICAL CENTER IN SHERIDAN, THE SYSTEM HAS EIGHT OUTPATIENT CLINICS LOCATED IN CASPER, RIVERTON, CODY, GILLETTE, ROCK

SPRINGS, WORLAND, EVANSTON, AND AFTON, WYOMING. FOLLOW US AT www.facebook.com/SheridanVAMC and www.twitter.com/SheridanVAMC and now on www.instagram.com/SheridanVAMC.