National Guard Troops Coming to Central New York to Assist MVHS

Due to a severe staffing shortage at Mohawk Valley Health System the National Guard has been activated to come in and assist.

MVHS officials made a statement in response to the need for National Guard members to move into the area. MVHS CEO Darlene Stromstad said in a statement,

MVHS, like hospitals across Central and Upstate New York, has been challenged by workforce shortages which are occurring at the same time there has been a dramatic increase in acutely ill patients seeking care and treatment. At the same time, we’ve experienced an increase in the number of COVID patients. This has led to unprecedented numbers of patients seeking care in our Emergency Departments as well as demand for inpatient stays.

Due to high COVID numbers, the treatments needed for non-COVID related illnesses have been strained as well. While the National Guard is coming in, Stromstad is urging any and all additional medical help to the system. Another area in which the system is suffering due to a lack of staff is at their long-term care facility, MVHS Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. Due to staffing issues there is a backlog of patients in the two hospitals waiting for long-term care beds.

As a result of these challenges, New York State has offered 10 National Guard medics to assist MVHS at the long-term care facility. Stromstad says, "Ten additional professionals to serve as certified nursing assistants (CNA) will add to RNC’s capacity and allow us to alleviate some of the pressure in our two hospitals."

The assistance from the National Guard is expected to arrive early next week and MVHS is always trying to actively implementing several plans to address these unprecedented challenges.