A continued COVID-19 surge in Minnesota prompted Governor Tim Walz to request assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for long-term care facilities and hospitals on Wednesday
In a letter sent to FEMA, Governor Walz wrote, "Minnesota’s case counts are on the rise, which means the need for staffing support will continue to increase. Securing this additional staffing support, in addition to extending the current staffing support on the ground in Minnesota, would significantly assist our state during this tenuous time.”
Walz is asking for 10 additional staff that would go to facilities experiencing staff shortages due to the spike in positive cases across the state. It would also provide a 30-day extension of existing federal support.
For medical workers and long-term care facilities, the help can't come soon enough.
"Any federal assets that can come into the state to assist in long-term care facilities are definitely needed," said Nicole Mattson, the Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Care Providers of Minnesota.
According to Mattson, many of their facilities are experiencing high levels of community transmission. Staff are often forced to leave for up to ten days due to asymptomatic positives tests.
"It just really is a huge crisis right now," Mattson said. "We've had critical workforce shortages in our sector prior to the pandemic, but with this kind of new, widespread community transmission, it has really kind of exacerbated this critical staffing need. You can't have healthcare without healthcare workers."
Through the State Emergency Operations Center, Minnesota has deployed medical professionals to long-term care facilities and hospitals experiencing a staffing crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"That has proven to be effective in some cases," Mattson said. "We've reached critical proportions in terms of community spread, so those resources are spread a little bit thinner."
For healthcare worker, Mattson says rising community transmission is threatening their ability to do their jobs effectively, especially as they back and forth to work.
"Our healthcare workers need to travel in the community, go grocery shopping, etc." Mattson said. "They are continuing to work. They can't work from. They have to work with the most vulnerable people. That's the critical need. With COVID-19 directly impacting healthcare workers, we can't provide healthcare."
The Minnesota Department of Health reported 31 new deaths from COVID-19 on Wednesday. 19 of those 31 deaths occurred in long-term care or assisted living facilities.
Mattson says Walz's letter to FEMA is a reminder to Minnesotans and those outside the state that there are jobs open in the healthcare field.
"There's definitely some fatigue that's out there," Mattson said. "There are people who've left the profession, so turnover has increased maybe somewhat. There are also waives that takeout portions of the workforce because of testing. We kind of need to deepen our bench and have more people join us to stabilize the workforce and have enough people to really meet the good quality, healthcare for our most vulnerable seniors."
For more on job opportunities in senior care, click here.
