As cases of COVID-19 continue to skyrocket in Mississippi, state officials have requested use of the military hospital ship USNS Comfort to buttress intensive care unit capacity for COVID-18 patients, ABC News reported.
This ship was used to treat more than 180 New York COVID-19 patients last year.
Listen to your favorite News/Talk station now on Audacy.
“I am surprised that it has come to the point where the state of Mississippi is having to request a hospital ship to come to the Coast because we have not done what we needed to do to protect ourselves,” said Richard Roberson, vice president of state advocacy at the Mississippi Hospital Association.
Related
According to Nola.com, Gov. Tate Reeves failed to acknowledge the request when asked Thursday what federal aid Mississippi would ask for. However, Reeves did tell reporters that he would discuss the need for 920 additional health care workers with federal officials, along with other needs. Hospital staff is down 2,000 nurses, the governor said.
Reeves has downplayed a hospital bed shortage in Mississippi as the Delta variant continues to spread, especially among the unvaccinated, said Nola.com. As of this week, there were around 1,140 people in the state hospitalized with the virus and 4,412 cases had been identified, according to the outlet.
Apart from the request to use the USNS, Mississippi Friday opened a field hospital for COVID patients, including older children, at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Reeves has also indicted a field hospital could be set up at Camp Shelby, but Nola.com reported there is not enough personnel to staff it.
State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said Mississippi has also requested hundreds of nurses, dozens of doctors and about 200 respiratory therapists. Staffing is their biggest challenge in terms of handling COVID-19 patients, he said.
“It’s not necessarily that we need the ship, but we need personnel from anywhere we can get them and we will strive to,” Dobbs explained.
Related
While Mississippi searches for medical professionals, hospitals along the coast are overtaxed, said Nola.com, and some are offering sign-on bonuses for nurses. Memorial Hospital CEO Kent Nicaud said the hospital has around 95 COVID-19 patients and is down 23 Emergency Room beds.
“I wondered to myself, is this what it might look like in a world war?” asked Singing River Health System CEO Lee Bond of watching ambulances unable to unload patients, people on stretchers in hallways and people gasping for air in waiting rooms.
COVID-19 cases are rising throughout the country, including Louisiana.