CentraCare Getting Federal Help
11-17
Web Story:
(KNSI) – CentraCare Health is getting federal help caring for patients sickened by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a press release from the governor’s office, CentraCare will be getting a strike team from the Department of Defense with 22 medical professionals, including nurses and respiratory therapists, to treat critically ill patients. According to the governor, the strike team will arrive next week and begin treating patients immediately.
According to the email, the governor’s office reached out to the Department of Human Services because of a significant surge in COVID-19 cases in Minnesota. The governor stated the strike team would create more room to care for sick patients.
CentraCare Health Incident Commander Dr. George Morris says they need the help.
“We’re not able to meet every medical need that our community has, and part of that is because our staffed beds are full. Our ERs are full. People are waiting in critical access hospitals when they should be elsewhere.”
Dr. Morris says they’ve had to covert other space to expand their ICU capacity.
“We have patients that are getting medical care in areas that are not ideal. We’re just limited because of how busy everything is and because of the way this virus is spreading.”
He says the delta variant and the unvaccinated have fueled the surge. According to hospital officials, CentraCare and Carris Health were treating 120 patients as of Tuesday afternoon.
St. Cloud Hospital is one of only two in the state getting federal help. The other strike team is heading to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.
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