Governor Hogan announced today, in partnership with the Maryland Hospital Association, efforts to mobilize a medical staffing surge to assist with treating COVID-19 patients. During his remarks, the Governor expressed concern that hospitalizations, which have increased by 51%, are overburdening our hospitals and negatively affecting workers. These efforts will address possible shortages of health care workers and hospital beds.
The medical staffing program, referred to as MarylandMedNow, will serve to recruit people to work at state hospitals, nursing homes, testing sites and vaccination clinics. Marylanders who are interested in being hired for these paid positions can go to www.marylandmednow.com. Additional actions include the following:
- The state has requested that Maryland colleges and universities immediately develop emergency policies and procedures to award academic credit to students for hands-on work experience in healthcare during the pandemic.
- Maryland colleges and universities are also encouraged to allow healthcare students who are in their final semester and have satisfied all graduation requirements to get an “early exit” and expedited testing and licensing requirements in order to more expeditiously enter the workforce. Read the letters to medical school deans and to nursing programs.
- The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) and the Maryland State Department of Education are urging local jurisdictions to tap non-deployed school nurses, health services staff, and other county employees to assist the state’s testing and vaccination sites. Read the letter to local school superintendents and health officers.
- Hospitals and nursing homes are urged to begin utilizing unlicensed individuals as extenders to perform non-critical tasks in order to free up nursing staff across the state.
Hospital surge actions include:
- Patient surge plans, which include detailed strategies for the expansion of hospital bed and staffing surge capacity adjustments submitted to MDH no later than Tuesday, December 8.
- Hospitals being required to expand their staffed bed capacity by 10% within seven calendar days if hospitals statewide reach 8,000 total hospitalizations or greater.
- Hospitals immediately making adjustments by adding or redeploying staff, reducing elective procedures that require a bed or ventilator, and transferring patients to appropriate treatment facilities. Read the order from MDH.
- The Health Services Cost Review Commission taking steps to reinstate its emergency policy to provide more financial stability to hospitals as they navigate the pandemic.
The Governor also recognized Secretary of Health Bobby Neall on his retirement and announced Dennis Schrader, who has been leading the state Health Department surge operations, will become acting health secretary. Acting deputy secretary for public health services Dr. Jinlene Chan will lead Maryland’s vaccination distribution efforts.
Governor’s Press Release
Watch today’s press conference
View the slides from today’s press conference
