Federal help coming to 1 St. Louis hospital as others will have to go without it
By Dan Greenwald
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NORTH ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Missouri (KMOV) — Days after local hospital officials requested federal help, aid will be arriving at a local hospital. Others will have to go without it.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force says 44 healthcare professionals will soon be arriving at Christian Hospital. The task force recently requested aid to support 11 hospitals and medical facilities due to the rising number of COVID-19 patients.
The ten other hospitals that requested federal aid will not get it. In total, 951 medical personnel were requested for the hospitals. Requests from each hospital were:
Mercy Hospital Washington: 117-122 Mercy Hospital Jefferson: 72 Mercy Hospital South: 135 Mercy Hospital South: 82 SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital: 74 SSM Health St. Joseph Lake St. Louis: 22 SSM Health SLU Hospital: 97 SSM Health DePaul Hospital: 104 SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital: 105 St. Luke’s Hospital: 110 BJC Christian Hospital: 28 The 44 workers aided to Christian Hospital is only 4 percent of the number requested. Those workers will arrive Wednesday. Christian Hospital President Rick Stevens expressed positivity for his hospital staff.
“All of our staff throughout Christian Hospital have shown dedication and commitment to excellent patient care as we continue together in our mission for health and safety,” Stevens said. “This aid serves as a beacon of hope for us as we continue to serve our community during this unprecedented time.”
Task force hospitals were told they would only be getting the one team of doctors and nurses who would only serve at one hospital. The task force chose Christian Hospital, in part because it cares for underserved populations and also because areas of north St. Louis County have some of the highest rates of COVID infection.
Hospitals are struggling with staffing during the omicron surge because so many employees are out sick, in quarantine or caring for a sick loved ones. Stevens said his hospital has 100 employees off work because they’re sick.
“We are grateful that the federal government chose us to provide the help,” said Stevens.
Earlier this month, a 15-member medical team was deployed to Research Medical Center in Kansas City, from the National Disaster Medical System. According to the Department of Defense, 14-military medical teams are currently deployed at hospitals around the country. Since the start of the pandemic, 5,300 military members have served in community hospitals.
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