LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky and Indiana are preparing for a surge in cases at long-term care facilities as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizes continue to rise nationwide.
On Wednesday, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb announced the National Guard will be assisting staff at the 535 long-term care facilities across the state, heading to places that currently have positive cases on Nov. 1. They will assist with testing and reporting to allow existing facility staff to focus on patient care.
This is one of the ways officials are trying to take the load off the shoulders of staff hit hardest by COVID-19 when the pandemic started.
ISDH's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lindsay Weaver said the extra time, effort and responsibilities that have come with this pandemic, have run their employees ragged.
"They have been running a marathon at a spring pace for 8 months and the human body simply isn't designed to sustain such a pace," Weaver said.
Betsy Johnson, the president of the Kentucky Association of Healthcare Facilities, said their exhaustion is just the same.
"Honestly worried about the people that we represent because they are being asked to do so much, with so little resources," Johnson said.
Back in April, Kentucky created a task force to help this extremely vulnerable group. They received funding to pay for heroes bonuses, overtime, additional testing and PPE. Johnson said they have asked for additional funding to continue those abilities.
"It's interesting that the governor of Indiana did that. I don't think we're quite there. We asked for additional funding," Johnson said. "We fully support any additional help that we can get."
Other efforts in Indiana include providing 2 million N95 masks to these facilities. In the midst of this exhaustion, Kentucky and Indiana are watching the numbers rise.
"They're not trying to get the virus but when there is that much virus in the community, it finds it's way in these facilities," Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said.
In Kentucky, 10.9% of the total number of COVID-19 cases and 55.3% of those who have died are from long term care facilities and the same goes for Indiana with 10.3% of their cases and 60% of their deaths coming from these communities.
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