The Department of Veterans Affairs recently announced its Remote Patient Monitoring – Home Telehealth system, which is connecting California veterans in close proximity to wildfires with VA medical services.
The VA said last week that its RPM-HT system has been able to alert veterans in high-risk areas regarding precautions that can be taken to avoid smoke-related illnesses. Though firefighters have made significant progress containing the state’s many wildfires, including the Blue Ridge and Silverado fires, some fires in the state continue to burn and air quality throughout California is still diminished.
Confronting a separate threat, the VA has also been using the RPM-HT system to conduct virtual appointments with veterans in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The VA says that since the pandemic began, it has been able to “support more than 25,000 virtual appointments each day.”
Telehealth has helped limit the number of in-person visits to VA healthcare facilities, in addition to allowing VA medical providers to check up on patients often.
While the VA has largely been successful in containing coronavirus thus far, spikes in VA coronavirus-related case numbers have occurred as recently as mid-October.
The American Legion Offers Assistance to Veterans Suffering from Wildfires
Veterans residing in areas that were previously declared to be in a state of emergency due to wildfires may be able to seek assistance from The American Legion’s National Emergency Fund.
The NEF offers grants for active legionnaires that have been displaced due to a declared natural disaster. Received funds are intended to be used to help pay for costs associated with displacement, such as temporary shelter, diapers, and so on.
The NEF was established in 1989 to help survivors of Hurricane Hugo. Since the start of the year, over $100,000 has been awarded to legionnaires throughout the country, including in California.
Author: Christian Southards
Coming from a family with a proud military background and wanting to contribute his writing skills to a worthy cause, Christian began writing for the California American Legion in August of 2020. His father is a 25-year Army Veteran and his grandfather served in the Navy during Vietnam.