Governor Reeves announced that over 1,000 medical professionals were arriving in Mississippi today to fill requests of hospitals for staffing.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) is currently contracting with four vendors to provide personnel to 61 hospitals across the state. The Mississippi State Department of Health is also joining in to coordinate licensing approval for those who are contracted.
The state is currently contracting with the following vendors: H&S, Snapnurse, GQR and Maxim. Additional vendors have been contacted to assist in medical staffing shortages.
“We are doing whatever it takes to get boots on the ground in our hospitals. Today, we are deploying over 1,000 healthcare personnel within 9 business days of the initial request. Our top priority is to ensure that every Mississippian who can get better with quality care receives that care. We are grateful for those that are answering the call to alleviate the pressure on our healthcare workers. To the current healthcare staff in the state, we thank you for your continued dedication to our fellow Mississippians,” says Governor Tate Reeves.
Starting Tuesday, 808 nurses, three certified registered nurse anesthetists, 22 nurse practitioners, 193 respiratory therapists and 20 paramedics will deploy to 50 hospitals.
This is a phase in approach which has filled the Level 1 and Level 2 trauma hospital requests. Level 3 hospital requests are now being processed and should be filled by the end of the week.
“Medical staffing provided by the state is for the COVID-19 mission to address the surge of patients due to the Delta Variant. Our staff has worked tirelessly to give our hospitals the relief they need and deserve. We are working with FEMA to secure reimbursement for these contracts worth roughly $10 million a week statewide for eight and a half weeks. MEMA stands ready to coordinate any additional resources needed,” says MEMA Executive Director Stephen McCraney.
MEMA is requesting an expedited federal reimbursement from FEMA to cover the costs of medical staffing contracts.
The medical staffing needs advertised in the original ‘request for quote’ included 65 physicians, 920 registered nurses, 41 CRNAs, 59 nurse practitioners (APN), 34 physician assistants, 239 respiratory therapists and 20 EMT paramedics. Nineteen vendors supplied RFQs.
Current hospitals with deployment orders for medical personnel as of August 24, 2021.
You can see what hospitals made staffing requests below:
| UMMC | George Co Hosp – Lucedale | Jefferson Davis Community – Prentiss |
| St. Dominic | Delta Health Med – Greenville | Pearl River Co – Poplarville |
| North MS Medical Center | Merit Health Rankin | Merit Health River Oaks – Flowood |
| Merit Health Central | North MS Med – West Point | Merit Health Biloxi |
| Forrest General Hospital | Merit Health Madison | Southwest MS Regional Med – McComb |
| Rush Foundation Hospital | Baptist Mem – Golden Triangle | Methodist Olive Branch |
| Singing River – Pascagoula | Anderson Regional – Meridian | Delta Health NW Regional – Clarksdale |
| Merit Health Wesley | Oktibbeha Co Hosp – Starkville | UMMC Grenada |
| Singing River – Ocean Springs | North MS Med Gilmore – Amory | Baptist Memorial Booneville |
| MS Baptist Med Center – JXN #10 | Magnolia Regional Health-Corinth | Merit Health Natchez |
| Memorial Hospital – Gulfport | Tippah Co Hospital | Ochsner Medical Center Hancock – Bay St. Louis |
| Greenwood Leflore | Magee General – Magee | Panola Medical Center – Batesville |
| Singing River Gulfport | Webster Health Services – Eupora | Sharkey Issaquena Comm Hospital – Rolling Fork |
| Merit Health River Region | Jefferson Co Hospital – Fayette | Claiborne Co Medical Center – Port Gibson |
| Baptist Memorial – Desoto | South Sunflower – Indianola | HC Watkins Memorial – Quitman |
| Baptist Memorial – North MS | Baptist Memorial – Calhoun | Copiah Co Medical Center – Hazlehurst |
| King’s Daughter | Baptist Memorial – Yazoo | UMMC Holmes County – Lexington |
| South Central – Laurel | Perry County General – Richton | Lackey Memorial Hospital – Forest |
| Baptist Memorial – New Albany | Marion General – Columbia | Field Health System – Centreville |
| Walthall General Hospital – Tylertown | KPC Promise Hospital of Vicksburg | Alliance Healthcare – Holly Springs |
| Highland Community Hospital |
Sarah Ulmer
