Over the past two months, the federal and state governments have implemented a number of restrictions designed to reduce the risks of exposure and spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus). Along with stay-at-home orders and social distancing guidelines, certain businesses and organizations have been ordered to temporarily close or scale back operations.

Fortunately, the Summit County VSC is continuing to provide its full offering of services during this time. However, in order to help ensure the safety of our veterans, their dependents and our staff, we are implementing some changes. Anyone with questions, or needing to schedule time for a consultation, should first do so over the phone by calling (330) 643-2830.

In-person interactions

• Face-to-face contact for benefit claims assistance and interviews is being reduced and will be coordinated over the phone, whenever possible. Some space is available in Freedom Hall if an in-person meeting is warranted, but please call first to confirm.
• To minimize risk, prior to entry, walk-in visitors will be asked a series of questions relating to their current health, the health of others in the household and other pre-existing conditions.
• Seating in the VSC waiting room is being limited to allow for appropriate social distancing.
• All public meetings in Freedom Hall are canceled until further notice.

Transportation to VA facilities

Transportation service for veterans with health care appointments will continue, but will be contingent on answers to a series of questions to ensure the safety of the driver and other passengers:

• Are you, or is anyone at your home, currently feeling ill?
• Do you, or does anyone close to you, have any chronic medical conditions that elevate the risk of contracting an infection or illness?
• Are you, or is anyone at home, experiencing a cough, shortness of breath and/or a temperature over 100.4º?

Financial assistance

If you need help applying for financial assistance, please call the office first at (330) 643-2830 between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., particularly if you are over 75 and/or in poor health. Every attempt will be made to complete the application over the phone. If you do need to visit the office, please try to make plans to leave children or other dependents at home with a responsible caregiver.

Learn more!

Both the CDC and VA provide a wealth of information about the pandemic, and actions that are being taken to address it, as well as steps the VA is taking to continue providing effective care to veterans, including COVID-19 testing. Learn more at https://www.cdc.gov/ coronavirus and https://www.publichealth.va.gov/ncoronavirus. To stay up to date on actions at the Summit County VSC, visit https://www.vscsummitoh.us.

Together, we’ll get through this challenging time and come out stronger at the end. Thank you for helping maintain a safe and healthy environment for all your neighbors and fellow veterans!