James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital

Dr. John Marquardt is an orthopedic surgeon at the James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital in Tampa. He spoke with Health News Florida from his beach house that's been gutted since Hurricane Helene.

National VA officials are commending staff in the Bay area for keeping patients safe during the storms. Now the focus is on rescheduling the thousands of appointments that had to be cancelled.

The VA says there isn't a hiring freeze, although federal data shows the agency has been dealing with "severe shortages" of nurses for years. Nurses in Tampa say they're feeling the strain.

The clinic shares space with a MacDill Air Force Base health center, part of a growing partnership between the Defense Department and Veterans Affairs.

Pharmacists in the government employees union say a vote of no confidence is a "last resort" after previous attempts to resolve staffing issues with leadership.

The center in Temple Terrace will serve as a one-stop shop for veterans experiencing mental and behavioral health issues. The VA is also starting to build a health clinic in Lakeland.

The new Lakeland clinic could help reduce wait times and how far veterans in Polk County have to travel for care.

Officials say a patient at the James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital had mild symptoms and recently returned from international travel. The St. Lucie case was also travel-related.

The hospital is offering the vaccine at its main facility and several outpatient clinics. Veterans 75 and older as well as some outside that age group can now sign up.

Facilities are reopening at a slower pace than many civilian health systems, but the VA recently started to expand in-person care.