Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers will dispatch the National Guard to battle the surge of coronavirus cases in the state, according to a release from his office.
In their capacity, the National Guard members will work to address staffing shortages across the healthcare industry, expanding capacity at hospitals and nursing homes.
The additional staff members will be deployed in segments, receiving training in order to fill the various roles.
“As we continue to see COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations surge, we are pursuing every available option to bring needed staffing support to Wisconsin’s health systems,” said Governor Evers. “I’m proud to announce our new partnership with Madison College to provide training to Wisconsin National Guard members so by the end of February we can welcome more than 200 new certified nursing assistants in nursing homes across our state and expand capacity.”
The spike in positive cases across the state has strained local medical facilities. According to data from the Wisconsin Department of Health (DHS), approximately 2,000 individuals in the state are hospitalized, with more than 450 in the ICU.
“As cases of Omicron continue to surge, this support is critical for supporting Wisconsin’s nursing homes,” added DHS Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake. “We continue to hear from our nursing home providers that they need more support to care for patients as our health system continues to be stressed by nearly two years of a global pandemic. Our new partnership with Madison College and the Wisconsin National Guard will help us ensure Wisconsinites have access to the care they need and help us increase critical healthcare capacity.”
Throughout the pandemic, the state’s National Guard has assisted in different manners. For example, the unit helped distribute testing early on and vaccines when they became widely available.
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Tony Evers” by Governor Tony Evers.
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