The health and safety of Georgia’s veterans is of the utmost importance to us. We are taking proactive steps to help ensure our residents, staff, and visitors remain healthy. 

Following guidance issued by Governor Kemp, the GDVS has suspended visitation at the Georgia War Veterans Nursing Home in Augusta and the Georgia War Veterans Home in Milledgeville. 

“In the interest of the health and welfare of our residents and staff, we’ve made the difficult decision to temporarily bar visitors from our nursing homes. We are committed to minimizing any health risks associated with COVID-19, particularly for our vulnerable veterans,” said Commissioner Mike Roby. “I understand that connecting with family is very important for our residents, but we are asking family members to please consider other ways to communicate such as letters, phone calls, text, or email.”

Exceptions may be made to allow next of kin to visit for end-of-life cases.  

To help further prevent the potential spread of COVID-19 in our facilities, the following processes have been implemented: 

  • Infection control rounds made twice daily on each unit, with temperature checks for all patients on every shift
  • Single points of entrance and exit in all buildings
  • 24-hour monitored checkpoints at each entrance with mandatory screening and sign in times for all employees, patients, and visitors
  • Temporary suspension of all group activities, group outings, and a temporary closure of the recreational center
  • Mandatory infection control training for all employees 

As we continue to gather information from Governor Kemp’s office, the Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control, we have bolstered our existing infection control policies and are prepared to act on any additional steps that may need to be taken, should the need arise. 

 Additional protocols may be implemented as the situation develops, and the GDVS will communicate updates via our website and social media channels.

 For accurate and reliable information about COVID-19, visit https://dph.georgia.gov/novelcoronavirus or https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.