New York governor activates 120 National Guard members to work in nursing homes amid labor shortage

Hannah Towey
Updated ·2 min read
ational Guard soldiers help to sign up people for their vaccination appointment at the York College coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination site in Queens.
National Guard soldiers help to sign up people for their vaccination appointment at the York College coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination site in Queens.John Moore/Getty Images

  • The governor of New York activated 120 National Guard medics on Wednesday to work in nursing homes.

  • Nearly 75% of nursing homes reported an overall "worsening situation with their workforce" this year.

  • The National Guard medics will work in nursing homes across the state.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) activated 120 National Guard medics on Wednesday to work in understaffed nursing homes amid the labor shortage.

The selected medics are "military medical personnel whose civilian jobs do not involve work in the healthcare field," Eric Durr, the New York National Guard's Director of Public Affairs, told Insider. "The only difference between them and a civilian EMT is that our medics are trained to do it while somebody's shooting at you," he added.

Nearly 75% of nursing homes reported an overall "worsening situation with their workforce" this year, according to a survey conducted by The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living.

"We have 36 residents on my floor. During the day we sometimes only have two aides. That's not enough," Flip Polizzi, a resident at Monroe Community Hospital — one of the nursing homes receiving National Guard aid — told local news outlet 13 WHAM ABC. "They are burned out from working 12 hours or more."

The activation is part of the New York National Guard's COVID-19 mission that began in March 2020, Durr told Insider. A total of 983 personnel have helped create vaccination sites, logistics facilities, and put together testing kits throughout the state, he said.

This isn't the first time the National Guard has been deployed to combat the labor shortage. In September, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) sent 250 members to drive school buses amid the national driver shortage.

According to US Code Title 32, federally funded National Guard personnel can "conduct missions at the direction of the state's governor" such as these, Durr told Insider.

"We have been working with nursing homes across the state to identify where these medical teams will have the most impact on regional health systems," New York State Department of Health spokesman Jeffrey Hammond told Insider in an emailed statement.

"Thus far, ​arrangements have been made to deploy teams to Shaker Place Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Albany County; Monroe Community Hospital; A Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility in Nassau County; Loretto Health and Rehabilitation Center in Onondaga County; MVHS Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Oneida; Clinton County Nursing Home; Willow Point Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Broome; The Pines Healthcare & Rehabilitation Centers in Cattaraugus County; and Terrace View Long Term Care Facility in Erie County," he added.

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