Gov. Jay Inslee Thursday announced that members of the Washington National Guard will help staff hospitals and testing sites across the state, as the health care system strains beneath surging COVID-19 caseloads.
Guard members will be sent to hospitals in Everett, Spokane, Wenatchee and Yakima to help with nonmedical tasks in order to help relieve crowded situations in emergency rooms. At the same time, other guard members will be sent to hospitals in Olympia, Richland, Tacoma and Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center to set up testing locations outside the facilities. Federal testing sites are also being set up in King and Snohomish counties.
And, in an echo of the early months of the pandemic, Inslee ordered a four-week pause on non-emergency procedures at hospitals and encouraged retired health-care workers to consider helping out.
The slew of emergency orders come as COVID hospitalizations in Washington have hit a record for the entire pandemic, hospital officials said Thursday. The past week saw an average of roughly 1,800 hospitalizations for the virus, topping the previous high of about 1,700 hospitalizations per week in mid-September.
The governor is asking for help from anyone who can assist with vaccinations, testing, or work at hospitals or other facilities. Those interested can sign up HERE.
