Buffalo, NY (WBEN) A dozen members of the New York National Guard have been deployed to ECMC's Terrace View Nursing Home facility.
Amidst the ongoing COVID pandemic, the deployment is to help with staffing shortages at the facility and reduce hospital bed capacity.
Eric Durr, Director of Public Affairs with the NYS Division of Military and Naval Affairs, says 120 members have been chosen, and there was a catch in the criteria.
"We identified those not working in the health care field in their civilian job. Obviously, if you have a young woman who works in a hospital, you don't want to pull her out of that hospital and move her to another facility because that doesn't add anything," explains Durr.
Durr says the guard members are added to the current ongoing COVID-19 mission since March 2020. "We have people starting this mission. Hopefully, the civilian health care facilities can find people who can fill these jobs, but our people are there as needed," notes Durr.
Peter Cutler with ECMC tells WBEN the National Guard members will be helping with Terrace View's nursing staff. "They will be providing support service on a variety of issues that go into a day's work," which Cutler says includes checking on the health and welfare of residents attending to whatever needs they have.
Cutler says there have been staffing shortages throughout the country, which makes the addition of the National Guard very important support for ECMC. "Right now at ECMC, we have close to 50 patients who are medically cleared to be discharged, but they can't because there isn't a sub-acute facility available for them to go, like a nursing home or congregant facility," explains Cutler.
The shortages have been so profound, says Cutler, ECMC has not been able to safely discharge patients to other facilities. "We may have 3 to 5 patients of that description at any given time, but right now we're at 50."
The National Guard troops will be at Terrace View until spring. Cutler adds another facility in the southern tier is getting help as well.
