By David Brooks
CONCORD MONITOR
As hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 continue to surge in New Hampshire with no sign of slowing, a few dozen medical professionals will be brought into the state by federal officials to help open more medical beds.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will bring roughly 24 workers, including nurses, doctors and other professionals, as early as this weekend to help Elliot Hospital in Manchester reopen a wing that is currently not staffed, according to a Wednesday briefing by state officials.
“(Elliot) has some empty units available to open. With this federal team they’ll be able to open additional beds within their hospital immediately,” said Lori Shibinette, commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.
Gov. Chris Sununu said roughly 30 paramedics would be brought in by FEMA by the end of next week and assigned to hospitals with the highest COVID-19 burden, probably including Concord and Dartmouth-Hitchcock.
The Executive Council just approved a $6 million contract to fund those “strike teams,” money that will include the cost of housing and paying for medical professionals from other parts of the country.
The news comes as 462 people are in the hospital with COVID-19 in New Hampshire, more than 50 percent higher than the maximum number who were hospitalized during last winter’s surge. The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients has more than doubled in the past month, and continues to rise at a rapid rate.
A shortage of trained medical staff, some of whom have left the field from burnout or switched to more lucrative jobs as traveling nurses, has led to a lack of open beds. Many hospitals have stopped some elective procedures or taken other action because they are full.
Deaths are also increasing, now averaging more than six a day, and new cases are being found at record rates. The positivity rate, the measure of COVID-19 tests which find the virus, is now over 12 percent – far above the 5 percent rate that is generally used to indicate that a virus is spreading out of control.
Sununu admitted that things are likely to get worse.
“I don’t think we’re going to peak out here for quite a number of weeks,” he said. “The reality of what’s happening inside the hospital is scary stuff.”
“It depends on what omicron will look like or the next variant. I have no doubt that omicron won’t be the last variant,” Sununu added.
Answering questions from reporters, the governor reiterated his opposition to any statewide mandates about wearing masks or getting vaccines, saying it should be up to individuals and private businesses.
Dr. Benjamin Chan, state epidemiologist, repeated advice that he has long been giving: People should avoid unnecessary crowds, wear masks around strangers, get vaccinated if they’re 5 years or older and get a booster shot if they’re 18 years or older.
The state has opened four walk-in clinics for vaccines, including one in Plymouth and one in Claremont, and will hold “booster blitz” sessions around the state Saturday to give thousands of booster shots. All reservations for boosters have been taken.
Shibinette said that the state will be looking to open two or three facilities around the state that can take staffing from the strike force and open more beds for COVID-19 patients. “I’ve had six-plus facilities reach out to me and offer to open a facility if we can staff it,” she said.
In another action, Sununu pointed to the state’s Medicaid program, which guarantees the federal payments in advance for people moving to long-term care facilities, a move that should make it easier for them to transition.
He also noted that a change in licensing rules for nurses and other health professionals has produced a quick result, including 60 licenses issued in recent days to help ease staff shortages.
He said in coming weeks the National Guard will be sending 70 men and women to help hospitals with backroom tasks such as food service and clerical work, freeing up staff to help deal with patients.
“It’s about staffing level, about bed capacity, about being able to provide some level of care,” Sununu said. “Finding individuals will be hard.”
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