[ad_1]
Between 21 and 25 of the state’s regional hospitals are at a critical stage of staff shortages, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said at a press conference on Monday.
“Covid is burning our population here in Kentucky,” Beshear said, adding that the state had just experienced its third highest week of cases in the entire pandemic.
Initially, five National Guard teams of 75 people will be deployed in two-week increments from September 1, Beshear said. There will be other missions in the fall, including mobile vaccination teams, support to local health services and continued support to food banks, Beshear said. The governor said he had also formally submitted a request for resources for FEMA assistance.
“Our National Guard has answered the call every time during this pandemic, we appreciate them,” Beshear said. “We will continue to work with them to give them our support.”
There were 2,596 new cases of Covid-19 reported in Kentucky on Monday, Beshear said. According to state health data, there were 1,893 Kentuckians hospitalized, with 529 intensive care patients and 301 patients on ventilators as of Monday.
School mask mandate canceled
If cases and hospitalizations continue to accelerate over the next few weeks, Beshear said he would consider seeking or recommending a cover mask warrant in the state.
“I would make the decision to do it, because we can’t run out of beds, we can’t run out of staff and hospital beds. The results are disastrous there, because then we start to lose people because of it. heart attacks, strokes and car wrecks “. said Beshear.
The comments came after Beshear repealed his August 10 decree requiring the wearing of masks in schools.
The governor said he overturned the order “because of the court” after a federal judge temporarily blocked the order over the weekend.
U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman temporarily blocked the order in light of a Kentucky Senate bill that states that a governor cannot renew or continue an emergency issued in the same context unless he obtains first the approval of the general assembly.
The motion was granted on the grounds that Beshear did not seek approval from the general assembly before renewing the expired state of emergency, according to CNN’s previous report.
Beshear said he was surprised by the court’s ruling and believed he had the constitutional authority to enact the mandate based on a previous Supreme Court case.
The governor expressed concern about the state’s children facing the pandemic.
Last week, the state reported a record 18 children in pediatric intensive care, “and there are only a few hospitals that have a pediatric intensive care unit,” Beshear said.
“I’m not just a governor, I’m a parent,” he said last week. “Let’s make sure we make the decisions and have the courage to make the decisions that protect them. But not just protect them, keep them in schools.”
“It’s just a nightmare”
Dr William Melahn, chief medical officer and vice president of medical affairs at St. Claire Regional Medical Center, said the number of Covid-19 hospital patients in Morehead, Ky., Had doubled from 17 to 32 patients in over the past week, and the curve seems to be getting sharper.
“What is historic is that we currently have more critical patients than beds. So we are in an overflowing temporary intensive care unit,” Melahn said. “More than half of our inpatient care is currently dedicated to Covid, so this is our situation.”
St. Claire’s numbers are growing to the point where they turn post-anesthesia care units into intensive care units and turn regular units into isolation wards, Melahn said.
Lerae Wilson, head nurse and vice president of patient services at St. Claire, said she is looking to fill around 25 vacant nursing positions as the hospital has only 75 patients but receives more than 100.
“It’s just a nightmare trying to recruit staff,” Wilson said. “It’s not just Covid patients that we have in the hospital right now either, there are a lot of critically ill patients. So when you add Covid patients on top of that, it makes the staff doubly difficult. . “
CNN’s Melissa Alonso contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
Source link