The state of Texas is bringing in one thousand medical workers to help hospitals in North Texas struggling with the rise in patients associated with the COVID-19 hospitalization surge.
Local hospitals are currently overwhelmed with caring for the influx of residents. According to UT Southwestern, things are expected to worsen. North Texas has a reported 2,700 COVID patients as of this week.
Per Fox 4, UT Southwestern has projected that Dallas County hospitals will see roughly one thousand patients hospitalized simultaneously by the end of January, putting a strain on health care workers and local hospitals. Many hospitals are also short staffed as a number of employees are also out due to COVID-19 related illnesses.
“We have several hundred out right now,’ Dr. Joseph Chang, the chief medical officer of Parkland, shared.That’s a staggeringly high number, especially given the context that we were already short a few hundred staff from optimum.”
Steve Love, who is with the DFW Hospital Council, shared that Dallas-Fort Worth hospitals are also struggling with employees getting sick with the virus.
“But based on the end of the discussions as we went around the region, 10 to 15% of the hospital staff is out every day,” Love said.
Hospitals are now asking everyone to wear a mask to prevent those around them from getting sick, including hospital staff, so that front-line workers can care for those in need.
“We need to do that now, even though you’re vaccinated. Even though you’ve had your booster, and you may get infected,” Love said. “And you probably won’t be very sick. In fact, you may even be asymptomatic. You could still spread this virus, and we’ve got to knock down the spread.”
The one thousand hospital staff members will work within local hospitals throughout 19 counties in North Texas that are in need.