The Veteran-centered purpose

“As a Veteran, caregiver, or family member visiting the VAMC site, I need to see critical messages about situations affecting a health care system up front so I have the information I need to navigate my care. ”

On this page

↓ Where is it on my VA.gov?

↓ Add a new banner alert

↓ Add a situation update

↓ Unpublish a banner alert

Where is it on VA.gov?

A system banner alert, once published, will appear at the top of each VAMC system page, unless you set up exceptions. It may take about 30 to 45 minutes after saving the alert for the banner to appear, depending on how long the content release takes. A content release processes all published content on Drupal CMS.

Add a banner alert

1. On your homepage after logging in, click "Manage" in the top toolbar.
2. Hover over "Content."
3. Hover over "Add content."
4. Click "VAMC System Banner Alert with Situation Updates."
5. In the panel "Where will this banner appear?" check the box(es) next to the system(s) that should display the banner.
6. Check the box next to "Limit banner display to the home and the Operating Status page(s)" if you want to limit the pages displaying the banner. If unchecked, the banner will appear on all pages for the selected system(s).
7. Check the "Email Bulletin" box if you want to send a GovDelivery message to subscribers when this node is published and saved. Don't re-use system banner alerts, as this initial GovDelivery message won't be sent again.
8. Click the "Alert type" menu. Select "Information" if it's not an immediate emergency alert. An example might be the COVID-19 banner. Select "Warning" for emergency situations.
9. Check the box if you want Veterans to be able to dismiss the alert from their browser. For emergency situations, you wouldn't want the alert to be dismissable.
10. Enter a "Title."
11. Enter a description of the emergency in the "Alert body."
12. Check any "Calls to Action" boxes if you want display additional links.
13. You may skip "Situation Updates" when you create the banner alert. As the situation changes, however, you may want to come back to this node and click "Add Situation update" to provide time-stamped updates. You may use the option here to send GovDelivery emails about situation updates to subscribers.
14. In the "Situation Information" field, enter additional information, like other resources.
15. The editorial workflow for banner alerts differs from other nodes. Check "Published" to add the banner alert to the top of your system pages after the content release finishes (usually 15 to 30 minutes after publishing).
16. Enter a brief "Revision log message."
17. Click "Save."

To unpublish the banner alert after the emergency is over, come back to this node and uncheck the Published box, then save the node.

Add a situation update

Situation updates provide new information as a situation continues to evolve, without having to create a new banner alert each time. When you add a situation update to a banner alert, the information gets added as a timestamped entry on the operating status page, so site visitors can check back in to see the latest. You can send out email notifications with each situation update so people subscribed to emergency notifications have the latest information.

1. On your homepage after logging in, find the section you want to edit under "Sections" and click on it.
2. Click the "Content type" dropdown menu and select "VAMC System Banner Alert with Situation Updates."
3. Click "Filter."
4. Click "Edit" next to the banner alert you want.
5. Scroll down to the "Situation updates" panel and click "Add Situation update."
6. Check the box next to "Send email to subscribers via GovDelivery" if you want a notification sent  along with the update.
7. Select a "Date and time" to appear as the timestamp for the update. 
8. Add text for the "Update."
9. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click "Save" to add the update and send out notifications (if selected).

Unpublish a banner alert

1. On your homepage after logging in, find the section you want to edit under "Sections" and click on it.
2. Click the "Content type" dropdown menu and select "VAMC System Banner Alert with Situation Updates."
3. Click "Filter."
4. Click "Edit" next to the banner alert you want.
5. Scroll down to the "Editorial workflow" panel and uncheck the box next to "Published."
6. Enter a brief "Revision log message."
7. Click "Save."