Veteran Affairs secretary visits Atlanta VA hospital, pleased with improvements

ATLANTA - The Veteran Affairs Secretary said he is pleased with improvements made at the VA hospital in Decatur.

Secretary Wilkie toured the facility on Friday to receive updates on COVID-19 operations and tour portions of the facility. The secretary gave the operation two thumbs up.

"What has happened here in Atlanta is that we listened to veterans. We changed out leadership. We changed processes. We changed phone systems, among many other things," Wilkie shared during an outdoor news conference.

Secretary Wilkie said the department has maintained low infection numbers when it comes to COVID-19, despite the vast majority of veterans being in the most vulnerable group of 65 and older.

"As we speak, there are 2,600 active cases of COVID among 9.5 million veterans in this country. In our community living centers, only three are positive," the secretary boasts.

Sign up for FOX 5 email alerts

Questions quickly turned to a newly published report involving at least four unnamed sources close to President Donald Trump who claimed the president disparaged veterans and did not want to honor the war dead. The secretary debunked the article in the Atlantic magazine.

"It is patently false. These are the same people who just told you the president had strokes and a heart attack. I would ask those brave people, who continue to be anonymous, to come forward," Mr. Wilkie suggested.

Secretary Wilkie said the VA is doing a great job of meeting veterans where they are in rural America. He pointed to a substantial increase in telehealth appointments from 950 monthly to 20,000 during the pandemic.

"New leadership here, is one of the reasons I have been here twice in two years. I want to make sure this is as welcoming an institution, as possible, the North Carolina native concluded,” he said.

Download the FOX 5 Atlanta app for breaking news and weather alerts.