Skip to Content

Director's Message December 23, 2021

Dr. Robinson Banner

On December 21, 2021 VA Pacific Islands Health Care System officially broke ground on the Advanced Leeward Outpatient Healthcare Access (ALOHA) clinic in Kapolei.

This clinic is part of a larger plan to expand veteran’s access to Health Care on the island. This state-of-the-art facility will have clinics for Primary Care, Specialty Care like Women’s Health, Mental Health, Audiology, as well as a laboratory, and a pharmacy.

As we celebrate the holidays, let us all take some time to think of the men and women serving overseas who cannot be with their families this year. On bases all around the world, they will celebrate with phone calls or video chats to faraway places that they call home. Let us be grateful to them for their work, which keeps us safe to enjoy the holidays with our families. During this time of year, it’s also important to remember that the holidays can be overwhelming to veterans who are estranged or geographically separated from families. Let us all make sure to share the information for the Veteran’s Crisis Line: 1-800-273-8255, then press 1. Please make sure to share this resource with anyone in your life who may need it.

The holidays are a time to reflect on our blessings and to take stock in all that we have.  I ask all who have not taken the COVID-19 Vaccine or the Booster to please consider getting the vaccine.  Ensuring the health and safety of our workforce is our highest priority here at VAPIHCS. You, our employees and veterans are VAPIHCS’ top priority, and it is paramount that we continue to take every precaution with your well-being. We understand that this is an uncertain time as we learn more about the Omicron variant and that you have questions about implications for how we will work together safely. As the President shared yesterday and as public health experts continue to emphasize, if you are fully vaccinated, and especially if you've received your booster shot, you have a high degree of protection against severe illness. Vaccinated people who get COVID-19 are likely to have no symptoms or mild symptoms.

I want to assure you that we are taking Omicron seriously. First, we are doing the planning we need to do and have safety protocols in place for those of you who are already working onsite, consistent with current guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force.  

Please encourage friends and family to get their COVID-19 vaccines and Booster shots. Veterans can make an appointment to get flu shots, COVID-19 vaccines, and Booster shots at 1-800-214-1306.

I am also glad that this year we brought our soldiers home from Afghanistan, and that we continue to work towards a more peaceful world.

From my Ohana to yours, Happy Holidays

Adam M. Robinson, Jr., MD, MBA, CPE
Director, VA Pacific Islands Health Care System
VADM, MC, USN, (RET)
36th Surgeon General, USN

 

Website: hawaii.va.gov – submit your email to get our updates
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VAPacificIslands/
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/va_pacific_islands/

Weekly Radio VA Updates:
Tuesdays, 9:30 a.m. on AM830,KHVH with Rick Hamada

See all stories