Gov. Beshear: More than 300 National Guard members to support strained hospitals across Kentucky

(WSIL) -- On Thursday during his weekly Team Kentucky update, Gov. Andy Beshear said more teams from the Kentucky National Guard will arrive over the next week at strained Kentucky hospitals.

Assisting with nonclinical functions within the hospitals to allow hospital staff to focus on patient care, 310 additional Guard members will support 21 hospitals around the commonwealth.

“This shows that every hospital is bursting at the seams, that they desperately need help and that we are a state full of more desperately sick people than we have ever seen,�� said Gov. Beshear. “I believe this is the largest deployment of the Guard in this crisis health care situation in our history. Every time we’ve asked, they’ve stepped up and served us so proudly.��

The additional teams will support:

T.J. Samson Community Hospital, Glasgow;
Taylor Regional Hospital, Campbellsville;
Ohio County Hospital, Hartford;
Manchester Hospital, Manchester;
CHI Saint Joseph Health, London;
Baptist Health Hospital, Corbin;
Baptist Health Hospital, Elizabethtown;
Baptist Health Hospital, Lexington;
Baptist Health Hospital, Louisville;
Baptist Health Hospital, Paducah;
Highlands ARH Regional Medical Center, Prestonsburg;
Tugvalley ARH Regional Medical Center, South Williamson;
Middlesboro ARH Hospital;
Harlan ARH Hospital;
Mercy Health - Lourdes Hospital, Paducah;
UofL Hospital, Louisville;
TriStar Greenview Regional Hospital, Bowling Green;
Rockcastle Regional Hospital, Mount Vernon;
Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital, Somerset;
Kentucky River Medical Center, Jackson; and
St. Elizabeth Covington Hospital.

The Governor reported that 60 of 96 Kentucky hospitals currently have critical staffing shortages. He also said there are only 90 available adult intensive care beds throughout the commonwealth, the lowest ever during the pandemic.

Gov. Beshear reported 2,587,406 Kentuckians have received at least a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, meaning 70% of Kentucky adults are vaccinated.

Sept. 8 2021, COVID-19 Case Information (Most Recent Data Available)