Local National Guard members help burdened staff at Brockton Hospital during omicron surge
BROCKTON — Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital staff say they are extremely grateful for the help local Massachusetts National Guard members are providing in the midst of a COVID-19 surge.
Earlier this month, Gov. Charlie Baker gave National Guard members the opportunity to volunteer at their local hospitals to help clinical staff deal with the influx of COVID-19 patients due to the omicron variant.
So far, over a dozen Brockton-area residents who belong to the National Guard have stepped up to help their local health care workers, but more could be deployed if needed.
"It's as if they've always been a part of the organization," said Barbara Malacaria, associate vice president of nursing, of the National Guard members.
Staff at the hospital said the National Guard has come not a minute too soon. Malacaria said that Brockton has a very high COVID-19 hospitalization rate, on top of its current nearly 30% test positivity rate, meaning there are a lot more patients than normal.
"It has been months since we haven't had people waiting for a bed," she said. "It's like the mall at Christmas when you're trying to get a parking spot."
Malacaria said the backup is due to the sluggish pace at which they can get people out of the hospital and into other care facilities. She said people might be unable to move out because they are still testing positive for COVID-19, because they are unvaccinated and the facility only takes vaccinated patients or because the facilities can't manage having any more patients due to lack of staff.
Melissa Killham, a clinical nurse manager, said that not only are there more patients at the hospital than normal, but also that COVID-19 patients require more of the staff's time than other patients.
"When you have any COVID patients, there's a lot more work that has to be done, just having to take on and take off the PPE, more things have to get cleaned down," she said.
"So it's really nice to have that non-clinical staff to help you do all the little things that you do that are non-clinical. It gives the nurses — or any staff — more time with the patient to actually take care of the patient."
Like most hospitals right now, Brockton Hospital is also suffering from a staffing shortage. On top of that, many staff members are out with COVID-19.
The National Guard first came to the hospital three weeks ago, receiving week-long training. Each member has been trained in hospital security, patient transport, meal delivery and line prep and patient monitoring. They work regular shifts throughout the day and night just like other hospital staff.
So far, Malacaria said, the feedback from staff and patients about the National Guard members has been overwhelmingly positive.
Staff Sgt. Thomas Russo, who is in charge of the National Guard members at the hospital, said he wanted to come to Brockton Hospital specifically when he volunteered.
"I was a patient here myself in high school after diving for a loose ball at Brockton High my freshman year. I came here and got 30 stitches," he said. "I came here again when my mother was terminally ill with cancer. So it's nice to be able to give back to the hospital."
Brockton Hospital staff said most of their COVID-19 patients are unvaccinated or haven't gotten a booster shot, so they're hoping more people in the area will get vaccinated and help bring down the number of patients they're treating.
They also said that testing sites have had more availability in the past few weeks, so if residents need a COVID test and aren't seriously ill, they should look up local testing sites instead of coming to the emergency room to get tested.
Enterprise staff writer Susannah Sudborough can be reached by email at ssudborough@enterprisenews.com. You can follow her on Twitter at @k_sudborough. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Enterprise today.
This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: National Guard helps during omicron COVID surge at Brockton Hospital
