Baptist Health Hardin hoping for staffing assistance as number of COVID-19 patients rises

ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (WDRB) -- Baptist Health Hardin is searching for additional helping hands to assist its hospital staff.

This week, the hospital posted to Facebook with a message: "Now Seeking Medical Volunteers," saying inpatient COVID-19 numbers are up and there is a need for medical volunteers to sign up.

"It is not different here at Baptist Health Hardin than it is everywhere in the state," Chief Nursing Officer Sharon Wright said. "The number of patients hospitalized, in critical care and on a ventilator have dramatically increased in the last eight weeks."

Wright also serves as Baptist Health Hardin's COVID-19 incident commander.

"That role includes coordinating all of our local efforts, all of our internal teams, as well as the local, regional and state resources to ensure that we provide the care needed for all of our COVID patients," she said.

Wright said in early-July, Baptist Health Hardin had five to 10 COVID-19 patients hospitalized. As of Friday, that number has jumped to 85-90 patients. Wright said 90% of the current patients hospitalized with COVID-19 are unvaccinated.

Baptist Health Hardin seeking medical volunteers

"We have not seen the peak of this surge yet here at Baptist Health Hardin, but certainly, we hope that peak comes soon so that we can see the downward turn," said Steve White, assistant vice president of operations for Baptist Health Hardin. "So we're hopeful."

Gov. Andy Beshear announced Monday that requests to FEMA for a nurse strike team and EMS strike teams to assist various Kentucky hospitals. If that federal approval is given, Beshear said Baptist Health Hardin would be one of the first locations in the state to receive medical support.

"We have completed the paperwork for FEMA assistance, and we do know that application has crossed the governor's desk and been forwarded to a federal level," Wright said. "Our request was for internal staff here locally."

Beshear said Friday that the state has not heard back yet on the request for the nurse strike team of 100 individuals, but the request for EMS assistance has been approved, and teams arrived in Kentucky on Friday to be deployed to Louisville, Prestonsburg and Somerset.

"In Prestonsburg and Somerset, they're going to helping on regular emergency runs," Beshear said Friday. "In Louisville, they are primarily — if not solely — going to be doing patient transfers."

Baptist Health Hardin said it's managing.

"By that I mean we have deployed staff from other areas or opted to close elective type services," Wright said. "So we're managing care and providing care for all those that are coming in our doors."

White said Baptist Health Hardin has also met with the Kentucky Department of Public Health to discuss staffing needs.

"That FEMA help — or help from medical corps within the state — would allow us to provide some assistance to our staff that are just really tired and worn out right now, and we have to be sure we take care of them from that perspective," he said. "It would help us a great deal in that."

It is unclear when the state could hear back about the FEMA request for the nurse strike team. The deployment locations for EMS could change based on needs in the state.

Beshear said the National Guard will be deployed Sept. 1 to hospitals in the state to free up medical staff to serve more patients. The first hospitals getting that assistance from the National Guard include St. Claire Regional Medical Center in Moorehead, The Medical Center in Bowling Green and Pikeville Regional Hospital.

White said he is encouraging people to wear a mask, practice good hand hygiene, practice social distancing and get vaccinated.