National Guard asked to help staff Oregon State Hospital

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Significant staffing shortages at the Oregon State Hospital prompted health officials to call for the National Guard’s assistance at the psychiatric facility this week.

Oregon Public Broadcasting reports the Oregon Health Authority, which oversees the state’s hospital, requested 30 nurses from the National Guard. The governor’s office has not reached a decision on whether to fill that request.

Officials say the hospital, which employs 1,800 people and has more than 600 patients, is full and temporarily stopped new admissions.

The hospital treats some of the state’s most vulnerable: those found guilty except for insanity, civil commitment patients, and those ordered to the hospital by a judge on aid and assist orders.

The hospital’s staffing crisis has persisted on and off throughout the pandemic. But the number of hospital staff out on coronavirus-related leave has increased dramatically since February.

“We need your help,” Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen wrote on Tuesday to state employees. “OHA has exhausted all other staffing options for the hospital’s Salem Campus, and our circumstances are dire.”

Read more at: https://apnews.com/article/id-state-wire-oregon-business-health-coronavirus-pandemic-0ac838eedaaca36a087e858b61bad3c4