BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Veterans Administration Hospital hoped that by Friday evening it would have its entire phone system back up and fully operational.
On Saturday afternoon, it said incoming calls to its main phone line had been restored.
On Monday, the VA Western New York Healthcare System said its phone lines are back up 100%.and inbound direct calls are now functional.
"Callers can dial this number and speak with the operator to transfer to an extension. If the caller knows the 5 digit extension, they can enter it during the Auto Attendant message and get to patients or staff they are trying to reach," the VA said in a statement Saturday.
Terry McGuire, Public Affairs Officer for the VA Western New York Healthcare System, confirmed a problem in the system earlier this week that disrupted incoming calls.
He described it as an issue residing with the phone system vendor offsite, and not within the hospital itself.
According to McGuire, a needed part was expected to arrive Friday afternoon with the hopes of repairs being completed this evening.
McGuire also noted that the issue did not affect outgoing calls, so in-patient veterans were still able to stay in touch with family.
The problem was brought to our attention by Alan Janick, a 74-year-old Vietnam veteran after he spent three days trying to call in his prescriptions.
He kept getting a recorded message that all circuits were busy.
Janick finally drove over to the Bailey Avenue facility to renew his prescriptions in person.
He was pleased with word that the issue was expected to be resolved shortly.
"That's good news because we veterans need what we get from the VA," he said.
Help for vets is a click away
McGuire also reminded veterans that they can obtain many of the services they may need from the VA through the online portal My HealtheVet, where they can refill prescriptions, keep track of appointments, and communicate with their health care team. Patients can also view, print, or download copies of their VA medical records.