Four employees and 14 employees at the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center have tested positive for the coronavirus, officials confirmed late last week.

The VA Medical Center has set up a tent system in order to triage patients who are showing symptoms of the deadly coronavirus.

The hospital has also increased the number of medical, surgical, and ICU beds by more than 50 percent, according to a spokesperson.

Nearly 3,700 veteran patients at VA medical facilities around the country have tested positive for COVID-19, the Veterans Affairs Department said.

To that end, the chief of virtual care for VA medical centers across our state is reminding veterans about the My HealtheVet online portal and the VA Video Connect app.

Both of those tools provide veterans with the ability to manage their care with online prescription refills, appointments, lab and test results, radiology reports, and X-rays.

The VA Department introduced its virtual care program last summer, but the coronavirus pandemic has caused demand to grow exponentially.

“We’ve seen a 300 percent increase in the call volume that we’ve had,” says Dr. Veronica Sikka, Chief of Virtual Care for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. “We used to see 20 patients, now we’re seeing 70 to 80 patients a day. Our calendars fill up, but if we have more slots available we can see more patients and we’re working to see that capacity.”

For more information about My HealtheVet, click here.