DEARBORN, Mich. – The sharp rise in COVID cases has some hospitals in Michigan at their breaking points and now the Department of Defense is stepping in to help at the state’s request.
Forty four registered nurses, doctors and respiratory therapists will be deployed and split between Beaumont Hospital in Dearborn and Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids.
Original: Feds send 2 medical teams to support Michigan hospitals during COVID surge
Elizabeth Hertel, the director of Michigan Department of Health and Human Services explained why only two of the hospitals are getting the extra staff.
“We have been working with the federal government and hospitals across the state to do the evaluations and these were the first two that were prioritized, but we continue to do evaluations of other hospitals across the state as well,” Hertel said.
Thomas Lanni is Beaumont Dearborn’s chief operation officer. Lanni said the hospital has around 87 confirmed cases and another seven that are suspected or in testing at the hospital.
There are other patients facing other medical needs and emergencies.
“It is a juggling effort daily with resources and trying to allocate those resources for the most sick of individuals and making sure that we’re taking care of all them,” Lanni said.
Lanni said the hospital went through a thorough application process, which included assessing the volume of COVID cases and the amount of staff they have.
“Currently, we know many hospitals across the state are having challenges with being able to serve individuals coming into their doors. Some are temporarily having to close their ERs because they don’t have the ability to care for patients in a timely fashion. So this (additional staff) will absolutely help make sure that they can care for those who are coming in,” Hertel said.
Beaumont Hospital will receive the 22 medical staff starting next week. The additional staff come from across the country and will stay for 30 days. Their stay could be extended, if needed.
Lanni said it’s a tremendous relief to the hardworking staff at the hospital.
“This has lightened the load and has brought some sense of relief to them that there’s some additional resources coming,” Lanni said.
Lanni and Hertel agree, the larger relief comes from the general public.
“Just trying to remember that this is still here, COVID is still here. And we do still need to be cautious because we are putting our healthcare system in jeopardy right now,” Hertel said.
Read: Complete Michigan COVID coverage