Minnesota Governor Tim Walz spent his afternoon at the Hennepin County Medical Center meeting with active military members who will help relieve doctors and nurses as they treat COVID-19 and other patients.
Walz toured the emergency room, where he spoke with the healthcare providers he says are under extreme pressure.
"I asked point-blank, 'you've been at this for 20 months, how does it feel now?'" Walz said. "Without a doubt, every one of them said 'it's worse now than it's been. It's harder on us now than it's been.'"
Walz also shared that healthcare workers told him patients seem to be sicker now than they have been throughout the pandemic.
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In more than a century of being open, CEO Jennifer DeCuBellis shared that it's the worse it's ever been. She stressed the need for Minnesotans to understand the toll of the virus on emergency services.
"Minnesotans need to hear us say demand for emergency and life-saving care has exceeded our capacity," DeCuBellis said.
She added saying "right now, our reality here at Hennepin Health care is we get more than 20 calls a day asking for transfers."
DeCuBellis said that those are 20 calls they "don't have the capacity to answer."
HCMC serves the entire state of Minnesota, and while it has reached capacity, DeCuBellis shared that they are not turning people away.
Instead, they are forced to "stretch their team members," have patients wait a little longer for care, and force rural hospitals to hold onto patients for which they don't have the expertise to help.
"We need all Minnesotans to stand up, to stand together, and to protect our limited and vital emergency resources the best we can," DeCuBellis said.
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With the lack of staff at HCMC, 23 active military members have stepped in to relieve doctors and nurses, with beds and space for the sick but no one to cover them.
On Monday, Governor Walz also announced that he is activating the National Guard to form skilled nursing "response teams" to assist with staffing shortages at long-term care facilities.
Walz is also providing $50 million in federal funding to help facilities hire and retain staff.
There are also three alternative care sites that the state has already set up to add capacity to long-term care facilities.
