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Apr 20, 2024

Nurses, veterans raise red flag over A/C maintenance at Miami VA hospital

Veterans and nurses are complaining about the conditions inside the 55-year-old Miami VA hospital. This comes after the hospital says it’s conducting “routine maintenance” on a chiller that is

Veterans and nurses are complaining about the conditions inside the 55-year-old Miami VA hospital.

This comes after the hospital says it’s conducting “routine maintenance” on a chiller that is affecting an air conditioning unit.

This maintenance has caused elective surgeries to be delayed and the movement of patients to other floors.

On Wednesday, nurses and Veterans seemed to be caught off guard by the work, especially those who had appointments, like Veteran Amirr Ar-Rahman.

“I had a 7 a.m. appointment. They told me it was canceled at 7 this morning,” Ar-Rahman said. “This building has always been having problems. They really need to tighten up.”

Riezl Paraiso, the associate director of the Miami VA’s National Nurses United union, says this is the second time an A/C unit has been offline this summer.

“Our federal hospital where patients are veterans…they deserve so much better than this,” Paraiso said. "It’s not fair, it’s just not right."

In a statement, Director Kalautie S. JangDhari said they had to take a primary chiller temporarily offline for routine maintenance.

“While conducting routine maintenance of one of our primary chillers, we had to temporarily take it offline to clean it. All elective surgeries have been paused until the maintenance is completed and we are working diligently to reschedule to meet our patients’ needs," the statement read. "To mitigate any potential risk and out of an abundance of caution, some patients were moved within the facility for their comfort and safety. The movement of patients is in line with our contingency emergency management plans and has not disrupted the high-quality, patient-centered care we provide at the Miami VA Healthcare System.”

The Miami VA’s National Nurses United Director Bill Frogameni says the problem is much larger.

“This is a huge symptom of a chronic problem. This has been happening for years, that spot chillers have to be placed in different units during the summer. The air is never right…it’s hot,” Frogameni said. “Our infrastructure generally in that building, that 55-year-old building, is substandard.”

The VA’s statement didn’t mention how long the routine maintenance would take. Nurses tell us at least two floors are affected but the majority of the facility remains open.