Those troops will assist with care of certain patients at the psychiatric center, freeing up Butler staff to attend to other patients. These will include patients primarily needing behavioral health care who are now occupying beds in acute-care hospitals but soon will be transferred to Butler, one of three hospitals in the Care New England system.
This will “free up hospital beds” in such places as Lifespan’s Rhode Island Hospital, the region’s only level-one trauma center, which along with other hospitals is experiencing severe staffing shortages, according to National Guard Maj. Gen. Christopher P. Callahan, the adjutant general.
Rhode Island, along with other states and regions, is experiencing a post-holiday surge in coronavirus disease. According to Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, the latest estimates show that about 90% of new cases in Rhode Island are caused by the highly transmissible omicron variant.
“The good news is that we could be nearing our peak for cases and hospitalizations,” Alexander-Scott said.
Still, the director warned against complacency. Vaccinations and boosters, mask-wearing and proper indoor ventilation remain essential, she said.
“This is a global pandemic,” Alexander-Scott said. “With only half the world vaccinated right now, we expect COVID-19 to be part of our lives in some form or another going into the future. That’s why we have worked so hard to make the tools available.”
The temporary-license initiative that McKee announced will allow nurses to get into the workforce immediately, giving them 120 days to complete necessary exams while working.
The state is working with Rhode Island College, the University of Rhode Island, Community College of Rhode Island, Salve Regina University, New England Tech and other schools to conduct targeted outreach to recently graduated nurses.
This week, there will be two virtual job fairs for these graduates, one on Thursday focusing on Lifespan jobs and one on Friday focusing on Eleanor Slater Hospital and the Veterans Home. People can sign up for the Thursday job fair at lifespan.org, and for the Friday job fair by going to backtoworkri.com.
McKee said his office is also working with insurance companies and Medicaid administrators to assure timely discharge of recovering hospital patients “to ensure no one has to be in a hospital longer than they need to be - that they can get into the next stage of care or a nursing home as soon as possible.”
The Rhode Island Department of Health on Wednesday reported seven coronavirus-related deaths and 5,727 additional cases of COVID-19, along with 23,864 negative tests, for a 19.4% positive rate. There were 485 COVID-positive patients in Rhode Island hospitals at last count, up from 459 reported Tuesday, with 47 in intensive care.
Rhode Island has reported an average of 5,349 new cases a day over the last seven days, up 44% from a week ago and up 221% from two weeks ago. There are signs, though, that the growth in cases has plateaued. From Monday through Wednesday last week, the state set records for new daily cases each day. Since then, the state has gone six days without setting a record.
McKee said Wednesday that the state is starting to work toward determining how many COVID-positive hospital patients are hospitalized primarily for COVID illness and how many test positive after being admitted for other reasons. New York has begun reporting that data and Massachusetts plans to do so this week.
More: How many RI COVID patients were hospitalized for some other reason?
In New York City, more than half of the roughly 6,000 COVID-positive hospital patients did not give COVID as a reason for admission, according to figures released by New York state last week.
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