Maricopa County health department tries to lessen load on hospitals
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Amid a national shortage of nurses, many Arizona hospitals cannot fully staff the few free beds they have remaining.
The Maricopa County Department of Public Health says it's taking steps to help relieve the pressure.
The health department's more than 6,000-member Medical Reserve Corps of volunteers will fill in staffing gaps where possible.
Executive director Marcy Flanagan says the doctors, nurses, paramedics and others who previously assisted with COVID-19 vaccinations also will help staff new treatment sites.
"We are helping set up monoclonal antibody locations that are outside of the hospital systems, working with them," she said. "We also requested FEMA support to help staff those sites, and those should be opening soon. Those should help relieve some pressure on individuals that would typically have to go into the ED to receive those infusions.”
The department also is working with the state and healthcare systems to ease the backlog of discharging patients into long-term care facilities.
