Heat, water issues at Manchester VA, Tilton clinic cancels appointments

Feb. 5—In-person appointments at the Manchester VA Medical Center and the community-based outpatient clinic in Tilton have been canceled due to water and heating concerns related to this weekend's arctic cold snap, officials announced Sunday.

"Patient safety is our number one concern at VA Manchester," Director Kevin Forrest said in a statement. "We will continue to monitor and evaluate our facility water and heat concerns. Our dedicated facilities team is proactively researching any contributing factors and all hands are on deck supporting this effort."

Patient face-to-face health care visits at both Manchester VAMC — including Urgent Care — and the community-based outpatient clinic in Tilton will be changed to virtual appointments or rescheduled until further notice, officials said in a release.

"The Manchester VAMC took immediate actions to ensure the health and safety of the 12 Community Living Center (CLC) patients, followed by efforts to troubleshoot the loss of water pressure," Manchester VA officials said in a release. "During facility inspections the water pressure continued to lessen leading our steam-operated boiler system to be placed on pause to avoid additional infrastructure damage."

CLC patients have been safely relocated to VA White River Junction, Vermont and VA Bedford, Mass., officials said.

Contact the VISN 1 Clinical Contact Center to verify the status of any appointment(s) at 603-624-4366, ext. 3199. The Manchester VAMC is also contacting patients to discuss their appointment status, officials said.