IU Health will receive assistance from the National Guard to help handle the rising number of patients suffering from COVID-19 and other conditions at its hospitals, including IU Health North, Saxony and West.
The National Guard is sending six-person teams consisting of two clinical and four non-clinical service members for two-week deployments. Clinical service members will treat patients, and the non-clinical service members will offer administrative and logistical support to allow hospital staff to focus on patient care.
IU Health issued a statement addressing the issue:
“As COVID cases continue to increase and hospitalization of COVID and non-COVID patients reach all-time highs, the demand and strain on Indiana University Health’s team members, nurses and providers has never been greater. To best support our team members and patients, IU Health will leverage all available resources and enlist members of Indiana’s National Guard, in conjunction with the Indiana Department of Health, to assist in areas of critical need.”
COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state were at 2,755 as of Dec. 9. The highest number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 occured on Nov. 30, 2020, at 3,460 patients.
All members of the National Guard teams are fully vaccinated.
