Yuma County to receive emergency response team to help with spike in COVID cases
Team to assist YRMC as hospitalizations rise - News 11's Cody Lee reports
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Ahead of President Joe Biden's major announcement on the federal government's response to COVID-19, Yuma County has confirmed with News 11 an emergency response team is imminent.
As COVID-19 cases continue to climb, county officials say it's ready for the team of professionals.
Yuma Regional Medical Center (YRMC) will receive 10 paramedics. They plan to arrive in Yuma County within 24 to 48 hours.
“We were waiting for this assistance for some time now. I think it's a great help. At this point, we asked for nurses also additional nurses that may be arriving in the near future we were told within the next one to two weeks," YRMC's chief medical officer explained.
Since the beginning of December, YRMC has experienced between 65 to 75 hospitalizations a day.
“The most critical need is in the intensive care. We will have to expand our capacity. We are pretty much maxed out for our staff/bed in the ICU almost every day for the past few weeks," Dr. Magu added.
Just last week, YRMC CEO Dr. Robert Trenschel told KYMA, the hospital is in dire need of medical staff.
“It's really not a space resource, it's really a nursing resource. We need additional nurses, so we've reached out to our federal partners. I spoke with both Senator Kelly and Sinema and [told them] we need this strike team of nurses coming in to help here,” Trenschel explained.
In the state of Arizona, both Mohave and Yuma counties will be the first to receive the teams.
It was around this time last year when Arizona Governor Doug Ducey announced he would send out strike teams to hospitals across the state, including YRMC.
“Who knows what's going to happen over the coming weeks having gone through Christmas and Thanksgiving, which are traditionally come together events. And a lot of times what we see after that shortly thereafter is an uptick in cases," said Yuma County communications director, Kevin Tunell.
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According to The White House, six emergency response teams, with more than 100 clinical personnel and paramedics, are deploying to Arizona and five other states.
