St. Cloud VA Health care
System announcement

News & Announcements

St. Cloud VA HCS Current Operations Update, March 15, 2020

Due to the COVID-19 national and state emergency declarations the St. Cloud VA HCS is implementing numerous actions to safeguard Veterans served by the St. Cloud VA, our employees and the public.

All unscheduled patients and those with flu-like symptoms are asked to call first!

We are open for business, but if you do not have a scheduled appointment or have flu-like symptoms such as fever, cough and shortness of breath, call us at 320-252-1670 and select Option 2, or, if after-hours, select Option 3 before you visit the medical center or local clinic. In addition to calling first, consider using virtual care options such as telehealth or My HealtheVet Secure Messaging.

No Building Entry without Screening

In concert with CDC and MDH guidelines, the St. Cloud VA HCS is conducting screening of everyone at our facilities prior to allowing entry. 

Beginning March 17, individuals arriving at VA Clinics in Alexandria, Montevideo and Brainerd will be prescreened by staff in vehicles. Upon arrival at the clinic park your vehicle and stay in the vehicle until a staff member visits with you and provides additional instructions. These measures only apply at the clinics in Alexandria, Montevideo and Brainerd.

At the St. Cloud VA Medical Center, starting March 15, arriving individuals can anticipate altered vehicle traffic patterns and roadside screening points. 

• All vehicle traffic must enter the St. Cloud Medical Center campus via the two Veterans Drive entrance roads. The 44th Ave. N./12th St. N. entrance is closed to all traffic except for MetroBus vehicles.
• All arriving vehicles will be routed through a roadside checkpoint and met by a staff member. They will greet you, ask some screening questions, and guide you to the next steps of your visit. Please follow the instructions provided to you.
• After passing through the checkpoint, on weekdays all interior campus roads and parking lots are available for use. Some parking lots will not be available on weekends.

Building entry points are also limited.

At the St. Cloud VA Medical Center, all outpatient Veterans, visitors, volunteers and vendors can enter at the following locations:

• Bldg. 1 — Main Entrance open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends
• Bldg. 116 — Rehabilitation Center, open 6 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., weekdays.
• Bldg. 111 — Outpatient Mental Health Clinic, open 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., weekdays. After 4:30 p.m. and weekends by appointment only. Staff & Veterans in the MH RRTP can use the entrance from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. 7 days a week.
• Bldg. 48/49 — Entrance Pavilion, open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., 7 days a week.

All other entryways at the facility are not available for use.

Click here for helpful maps.

Visitor Restrictions

VA Community Living Centers (CLC), Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (RRTP), and the MH Acute Unit have implemented safeguards aimed at limiting COVID-19 exposure risk for patients who reside at a VA facility. To minimize the risk of exposure, no outside visitors will be permitted to see residents. In the CLC, the only exceptions will be in compassionate cases, when Veterans are in their last stages of life on hospice units. In those cases, visitors will be limited to a specific Veteran’s room only. In the MH Acute Unit, by appointment only if visitor is vital to patient’s recovery. Again, we apologize and understand the desire to visit your Veteran, and hope this situation is resolved soon. 

Everyone is encouraged to take preventative actions to avoid being exposed to the virus: 

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Stay home if you are sick or becoming sick.
• Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
• If you have symptoms or have been exposed to someone with symptoms, or do not have a scheduled appointment, call the VA before going to the facility.

To stay updated on St. Cloud VA HCS activities, please visit: https://www.stcloud.va.gov/ for current operation updates.

For the latest VA updates on coronavirus and common-sense tips on preventing the spread of disease, visit https://www.publichealth.va.gov/n-coronavirus/.

For more information about coronavirus, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.