Washington Asks Feds For Help Staffing Struggling Hospitals
OLYMPIA, WA — Gov. Jay Inslee is asking the federal government for help staffing Washington's hospitals as they struggle to stay afloat after weeks of record-high hospitalization rates.
In a letter to federal COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients, Inslee wrote that Washington's health care system was currently "at or beyond capacity" and that the state needs outside help to handle the continuing influx of new COVID patients.
"Once the Delta variant hit Washington state, COVID-19 hospitalizations skyrocketed," Inslee said. "From mid-July to late August, we saw hospitalizations double about every two weeks. The hospitals have surged to increase staffed beds and stretch staff and have canceled most non-urgent procedures, but are still over capacity across the state."
Inslee said that, in the past, the Washington State Department of Health had requested the assistance of 1,200 clinical and non-clinical staff through FEMA, but that further assistance will be "of significant value in Washington" as the state fights to crest the current, fifth wave of infections driven by the delta variant.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/washington-asks-feds-for-help-staffing-struggling-hospitals/ar-AAOE973