National Guard ends work at Columbus hospitals as COVID wanes
The deployment of some members of the Ohio National Guard to Columbus-area hospitals is coming to an end for now.
Guard members will end their mission at three area hospitals Friday, including Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center, Ohio State East Hospital and OhioHealth Dublin Methodist hospital, Stephanie Beougher a spokesman for the Ohio National Guard told The Dispatch.
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“The Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Hospital Association evaluate the situation in Ohio’s hospitals daily to assess and maximize staffing to ensure Guard members are assisting in locations with the most critical needs,” Beougher said via email.
After Friday, guard members will remain deployed at OhioHealth’s Grant Medical Center, Doctors Hospital and Riverside Methodist Hospital. They’ll also continue working at Mount Carmel East, Mount Carmel Grove City hospital and Mount Carmel St. Ann’s, Beougher said.
Although Guard members will end their mission at some hospitals Friday, Beougher said the majority will not wrap up their work until Feb. 11. Guard members may remain at Mount Carmel East hospital after Feb. 11, Beougher said.
Depending on the trajectory of the pandemic and hospital needs, end dates are “fluid and may change,” Beougher said.
At Ohio State, more than 200 Ohio National Guard members worked alongside hospital staff for about five weeks, according to the medical center.
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They worked at a COVID-19 testing site, helped in clinical areas such as the emergency department and as sitters at the bedside on nursing units. They also served in many non-clinical roles including environmental services, nutrition and patient transportation, according to the Wexner Medical Center.
Members of the Ohio National Guard have been deployed to hospitals around the state since mid-December. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced on Dec. 17 that he would activate 1,050 members of the guard to assist at hospitals and testing sites.
The deployment of guard members came as Ohio was in the midst of a new surge of COVID-19 fueled by the highly contagious omicron variant. Since then, the pandemic has retreated somewhat.
On Thursday, 5,737 new cases of COVID-19 were reported, according to the Ohio Department of Health. That’s nearly one-third of the three-week average of 15,953 new infections reported a day, data shows.
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