A beacon of hope as we continue to serve our community — Rick L. Stevens
Christian Hospital receives federal aid after St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force plea for COVID-19 assistance
To provide support during the worst surge since the beginning of the pandemic, The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force selected Christian Hospital as a priority facility to receive federal assistance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
A team of 44 health care professionals, including doctors and registered nurses, will begin arriving at Christian Hospital on Wednesday. According to a statement, HHS indicated it could deploy resources to only one local hospital.
“All of our staff throughout Christian Hospital have shown dedication and commitment to excellent patient care as we continue together in our mission for health and safety,” Rick Stevens, president of Christian Hospital, said. “This aid serves as a beacon of hope for us as we continue to serve our community during this unprecedented time.”
The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force submitted requests last week for federal aid to support 11 facilities in our region. In addition to the impact from overwhelming numbers of COVID patients, providing resources to underserved communities was a critical factor in choosing Christian, located in North County, as the facility to receive this aid, according to a statement.
In the request, the current COVID-19 surge is the most challenging disaster ever faced by the health care systems in the St. Louis region, which have weathered this storm over the past two years together. However, it’s now necessary to request assistance from the federal government, according to the St. Louis Pandemic Task Force.
“With every day, we break records in admissions and hospitalizations,” Dr. Alex Garza, SSM Health chief community health officer at and co-lead of the Pandemic Task Force, said. “There is no single healthcare system that has not been impacted by this surge in patients with the entire region facing dire situations. Our hope is that our federal partners swiftly deploy resources to help our depleted and demoralized workforce.”
Officials from multiple federal agencies met this week with Christian, BJC, and Pandemic Task Force leadership to begin planning for the medical team’s arrival, which will be stationed at Christian for approximately 30 days, according to a statement. The doctors’ and nurses’ specialties and departments for deployment have yet to be determined.
Tags: St. Louis Christian Hospital
