Fed Med Team To The Rescue In Riverside County
A team of approximately 20 federal military medical personnel is at work, supporting the Riverside University Health System Medical Center in Moreno Valley.
The Department of Defense team arrived on Thursday January 7th 2021.
The team consists of physician assistants, nurses, and respiratory care practitioners from the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force.
The federal military medical team is part of a state of California request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for federal support at medical facilities throughout California.
“Riverside County hospitals have been stretched well-beyond their licensed capacities to treat a record numbers of patients,” said Bruce Barton, director of the County of Riverside Emergency Management Department. “These resources are critical to help our region treat more of our residents and get through this hospital surge.”
The federal team is made up of active duty military medical personnel.
“In the past week, our 439 bed hospital (Main Campus and Arlington Campus), which normally has an average daily census of 350 patients, has been running an average daily census of around 450 patients. RUHS Medical Center had opened an additional 121 beds to support the continuing surge of patients in our region,” said Jennifer Cruikshank, chief executive officer at Riverside University Health System – Medical Center and Clinics. “These additional Department of Defense staffing resources come at a very important time and are breathing in a renewed energy and hope into our team that will help us continue to provide our expanded services and support the acute healthcare needs of more people in our region during this critical time.”
RUHS Medical Center continues to work to obtain additional resources to support staffing needs. For example, the state of California is sending additional traveler nurses to RUHS Medical Center to treat the influx of patients in surge spaces. Traveler nurses contract with different states and jurisdictions for six to 12 months at a time.
“We are grateful to be receiving support from the U.S. Department of Defense, which has sent a team of active duty military medical personnel, to help hospitals in our region,” said Riverside County Board Chair and Fourth District Supervisor V. Manuel Perez. “They are serving our country, and doing a fine job serving our community as they treat patients and relieve our overburdened hospitals.”
Doctor in PPE suit uniform has stress and pray in Coronavirus outbreak or Covid-19, Concept of Covid-19 quarantine.Emotional stress of overworked doctor and medical care team during covid-10 period.
Photo from Alpha Media Palm Springs CA
