Gov. Tate Reeves: More than 1,000 health care workers deploying to Mississippi
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Aug. 24—TUPELO — Gov. Tate Reeves announced on Tuesday that more than 1,000 health care workers have begun being deployed to hospitals across Mississippi in an effort to address staffing shortages.
The governor said 808 nurses, three certified registered nurse anesthetists, 22 nurse practitioners, 193 respiratory therapist and 20 paramedics will be deployed to 50 hospitals across the state, beginning Tuesday.
"We are deploying over 1,000 health care personnel within nine business days of the initial request," Reeves said. "Our top priority is to ensure that every Mississippian who can get better with quality care receives that care. We are grateful for those that are answering the call to alleviate the pressure on our health care workers."
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) is contracting with four vendors, which were selected based on pricing and staffing availability, to provide medical personnel to a total of 61 hospitals statewide over the coming week.
Those vendors are H&S, Snapnurse, GQR and Maxim.
The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) is coordinating with licensing boards to vet the licenses of all health care workers who are contracted.
Onboarding medical staff is a phased approach, with Level 1 and 2 trauma hospital requests having already been fulfilled and Level 3 hospital requests currently being processed and fulfilled. All staffing requests should be met by the end of the week, the governor said.
Mississippi is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to secure reimbursement for the contracts, which will cost roughly $10 million per week over the span of eight-and-a-half weeks.
Nearly 1,000 hospital beds will open up when the contracted workers arrive and begin working — 757 MedSurge beds and 237 ICU beds.
In addition to the health care workers coming through vendors, a 23-person active duty team has arrived in Jackson as part of the Department of Defense COVID-19 response operation, Reeves said. Twenty of them are active duty Air Force medical personnel, while three will serve in a command/control capacity.
The state is also expecting another 23-person team of active duty Army military personnel to assist in Northeast Mississippi, the governor added.
"They are in processing in preparation to provide assistance in Tupelo," Reeves said.
Just as with the first team, 20 members are medical personnel and three will serve in a command/control capacity.
Reeves said his top priority remains protecting the integrity of the state's health care system.
"We have been working around the clock to secure additional medical personnel through both federal private sector sources to shore off the staffing shortages that our hospitals find themselves in," Reeves said.
