Sheridan VA Announces Change in Urgent Care Access

On Monday, June 13, the Sheridan VA Medical Center will be temporarily changing access to services typically addressed in urgent care. According to a media release issued by the Sheridan VA, the change is being made in order to shift staff that are currently assigned to urgent care to support other patient care areas. Veterans will still be able to access walk-in care provided by the primary care teams from 7 am to 4:30 pm 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, Veterans may come to Building 71 where they normally check-in for regular appointments.  

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 reassigned 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.