The Veteran-centered purpose
“As a Veteran, family member, or caregiver seeking care at a particular VAMC facility, I need to be aware of temporary changes to hours or services available there. ”

In this guide

↓ Where is it on my site?

↓ What is it used for?

↓ How to do it

↓ Status options

Where is it on my site?

• In Drupal CMS,  go to the "VAMC Facility" content type and go to the "Operating status" panel.  
• Statuses other than "Normal services and hours" appear on a facility’s page on VA.gov in the "Location and contact information" section and in results on the VA facility locator.

What is it used for?

Facility operating status is a way to communicate about temporary changes to a facility's hours or services. For example, use this status to provide information about limited hours and services due to a natural disaster, weather-related event, or safety-related event. 

You must coordinate any permanent changes in operating status with your VAST administrator.

Don't use the facility operating status to share information about masks, screening, or visitor policies due to COVID-19. Use the facility COVID-19 status for this information instead. 

How to do it

1. On your homepage after logging in, find the section you want to edit under "Sections" and click on it.
2. On the content search page, click "Content type "and select "VAMC facility."
3. Click "Apply."
4. Under the results, click "Edit" next to the page you want to edit.
5. Scroll down to the "Operating status" panel.
6.  Under "Status," select the appropriate status for your facility. 
7. For any status other than "Normal services and hours," enter brief information in the "Details" field.
8. Scroll down to "Editorial workflow" and select a "Save as" state.
9. Enter a "Revision log message."
10. Click "Save."
11. When the temporary operating status change is over, come back to this node and change the operating status back to "Normal services and hours." 

Status options

• Use "Normal services and hours" when the facility is operating normally.

• Use "Facility notice" to indicate that visitors should be aware of certain circumstances before visiting. Provide brief details. Do not use this status for information about masks, screening, or visitor policies due to COVID-19. Use the facility COVID-19 status for this information instead.  

• Use "Limited services and hours" for temporary changes to the facility’s normal hours, including if virtual and telehealth services are available. Enter details about different hours or impacted services. 

• Only use "Facility closed" when there are no services available at the facility. If there are still telehealth appointments available for services Veterans would normally get at the facility, use "Limited services and hours" instead, and make a brief note in the details. If the facility closes permanently, contact your VAST administrator.