Issue with AC leaves veterans feeling the heat at Miami VA Hospital
MIAMI - Veterans are feeling the heat inside parts of the Miami VA Hospital. "It's very hot inside," said Coast Guard Veteran Tim Kouril.
There's an issue with the air conditioning. "It was getting hot, like really hot," said Army Vet Lawrence Bailey. "I kept saying like, 'What is the temperature on?' They said like the air conditioning unit broke down," he recalled.
We obtained pictures from inside showing portable chillers and fans. The VA told us patients from the 11th and 12th floors were moved. That's where Lawrence Bailey was. "I was laying in bed sweating, they had to change the bed two or three times. I was perspiring," he said.
In a statement the VA said, in part, "While conducting routine maintenance of one of our primary chillers, we had to temporarily take it offline to clean it."
Riezl Paraiso is a nurse here, as well as the Associate Director of National Nurses United. "It's kind of disappointing. This is our veterans hospital. Our federal hospital where our patients, our veterans, they deserve so much better than this," she said.
She said while the focus is on the 11th and 12th floors, it's causing other problems as well. "We have a delay in patient care because of this. They have to change schedules for OR's or any procedures because of this," Paraiso said.
The VA told us, "All elective surgeries have been paused until the maintenance is completed…"
The VA said it is hoping to complete the maintenance soon.