Military Medical Personnel Deployed To Riverside County Hospitals

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — As Riverside County hospitals and health care workers become further strained amid a crush of COVID-19 patients, a team of U.S. military medical personnel arrived in the county Thursday to add support.

“Riverside County hospitals have been stretched well-beyond their licensed capacities to treat record numbers of patients,” said Bruce Barton, director of the County of Riverside Emergency Management Department. “These resources are critical to help our region treat more of our residents and get through this hospital surge.”

The team of approximately 20 active-duty service members consists of physician assistants, nurses, and respiratory care practitioners from the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force. They are part of a state request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for federal support to medical facilities throughout California.

The team arrived at the Riverside University Health System - Medical Center in Moreno Valley and will support the region’s hospitals amid challenging conditions, according to county officials. On Thursday, Riverside County health officials reported records for both the total amount of COVID-positive hospital patients and intensive-care unit patients. There were 1,644 people being treated for COVID-19 on Thursday. The figure includes 364 coronavirus patients in county ICU beds. Both figures are records, according to Jose Arballo, a spokesman for RUHS.

“In the past week, our 439-bed hospital (Main Campus and Arlington Campus), which normally has an average daily census of 350 patients, has been running an average daily census of around 450 patients," said Jennifer Cruikshank, chief executive officer at RUHS - Medical Center and Clinics. "RUHS - Medical Center had opened an additional 121 beds to support the continuing surge of patients in our region. These additional Department of Defense staffing resources come at a very important time and are breathing in a renewed energy and hope into our team that will help us continue to provide our expanded services and support the acute healthcare needs of more people in our region during this critical time.”

RUHS - Medical Center continues to look for more resources to support staffing needs, according to the county. The state is sending additional traveler nurses to RUHS - Medical Center to treat the influx of patients in surge spaces. Traveler nurses contract with different states and jurisdictions for six to 12 months at a time.

“We are grateful to be receiving support from the U.S. Department of Defense, which has sent a team of active-duty military medical personnel, to help hospitals in our region,” said Riverside County Board Chair and Fourth District Supervisor V. Manuel Perez. “They are serving our country, and doing a fine job serving our community as they treat patients and relieve our overburdened hospitals.”

News of the added medical personnel comes a day after an announcement that the state delivered oxygen generators to Riverside County to help meet another urgent need.

"Oxygen suppliers are having a difficult time meeting the high demand of area hospitals due to the COVID-19 pandemic," Barton said Thursday. "This isn't limited to just one hospital. COVID patients need lots of oxygen and that's taxing the entire healthcare system. We've been working with representatives from California Emergency Medical Services Authority to address the growing needs and we're glad to report that today EMSA set up an oxygen depot, a state resource, that will supply Riverside County and surrounding counties with oxygen."

The "oxygen depot" is comprised of two large oxygen generators that fill large tanks used by hospitals and is augmenting the local oxygen supply, according to the county.

The State of California Emergency Medical Services Authority, working with the Riverside County Emergency Management Department, brought the much-needed oxygen into the county to help meet the needs of hospitals within the region.

The oxygen depot is also a resource for neighboring counties. Supported by Riverside County Facilities Management, state staffers will be available 24 hours a day to fill oxygen tanks, according to the county.

The oxygen depot is expected to remain until suppliers are able to keep up with demands.