More than 100 medical workers funded mostly by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have arrived in Hawaii to provide assistance to frontline caregivers at The Queen’s Medical Center-Punchbowl and The Queen’s Medical Center-West Oahu during this current COVID-19 surge.
This first wave of 115 caregivers, consisting of nurses, respiratory therapists, and a radiologic technologist, arrived over the weekend and beginning today will participate in orientation and deployment to various areas such as the Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit, and medical-surgical units.
“We are once again very appreciative of the federal government’s support in providing aid to help us through this surge,” said Jill Hoggard Green, PhD, RN, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Queen’s Health System. “This is welcome relief as we continue to see rapid transmission of COVID-19 in our community. Like the rest of the country and the state, Queen’s is seeing a dramatic increase in community-acquired infections and exposures. Today, over 800 of our caregivers are not at work due to either infection or exposure to COVID-19, or caring for family and loved ones impacted by COVID-19. This team of medical workers will provide much needed help to our caregivers who have been working tirelessly throughout this pandemic. They have sacrificed so much of themselves and we are so appreciative of their efforts. We would also like to thank our State, City and Federal governmental leaders, and the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, for their work in making this happen. We look forward to continuing to work with our elected officials to bring in more nurses and support staff to assist our caregivers, who have been working around the clock to provide high quality care to our patients.”
The Queen’s Infection Prevention and Control teams and Diagnostic Laboratories Services continue to provide comprehensive and proactive testing, surveillance and COVID-19 protocols to patients and staff with over 5,000 tests per week.
“We are very grateful to our teams for their state-of-the-art work,” said Hoggard Green. “As a result of this testing and ongoing surveillance, we are closely monitoring a COVID-19 cluster at Hale Pulama Mau. A total of 11 patients and 16 staff have tested positive for COVID-19. All are receiving appropriate care and the unit remains operational.”
Given the rapid community transmissions we are all seeing, Queen’s would like to offer some simple reminders to help keep you and your family safe and reduce the risk of COVID-19 exposure.
- Get vaccinated, including a booster! If you have been vaccinated, get a booster if you have not done so already. If you are unvaccinated, please consider receiving your first dose as soon as possible.
- Wear a mask. Consider wearing a mask even around household and family members who have unmasked exposures, especially if you are unvaccinated or have medical conditions that can weaken your immune system.
- Practice physical distancing.
- Wash your hands.
- Avoid large crowds especially when indoors. Keep your gatherings very small; ten people or less.
- Stay home if you are sick.
The safety and well-being of our patients and staff remain our highest priority.
