INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana National Guard is assisting the staff at an Indianapolis hospital due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 patients at the facility.
The Guard confirmed to 13News that they have personnel stationed at Ascension St. Vincent Hospital on West 86th Street to assist with patient care at the hospital. Hospitalizations have started to drop slightly across Indiana, but the state has been consistently reporting thousands of new cases every day.
The Indiana State Department of Health provided 13News with the following statement about the Guard's presence at the hospital:
"The Indiana Department of Health has partnered with the Indiana National Guard to establish five teams consisting of 10 members each to support hospitals that have exhausted all other staffing options. Hospitals can request a team and, if approved, will receive support for 7 to 14 days, depending on the need. The teams provide both clinical and general support. The goal of the temporary support is to allow facilities time to identify other resources to fill ongoing staffing needs."
The guardsmen began arriving at the hospital Friday, Sept. 24.
There are also teams at Clark Memorial Hospital in Jeffersonville and Deaconess Hospital in Evansville. ISDH said the agency is working with other hospitals to determine their need for staffing assistance.
Last fall, the Indiana National Guard deployed guardsmen to nursing homes in the state when COVID-19 cases began to surge. The Guard also assisted in administering the COVID-19 vaccine earlier this year.
