Hospitals near the southern U.S. border are preparing for a surge of patients as Title 42, the tighter policy of U.S. border enforcement enacted at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, comes to an end.
Title 42 will expire at 11:59 p.m. ET on May 11. The CDC invoked Title 42 in March 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy authorized U.S. Border Patrol agents to expel migrants trying to enter the U.S. instead of allowing them to seek asylum. In February, the Biden administration said the May 11 end date of the COVID-19 public health emergency would terminate Title 42.
Upon expiration of Title 42, the U.S. will revert to its longstanding Title 8 enforcement practices.
San Diego-based Scripps Health is preparing for a possible influx of ill or injured patients from the U.S.-Mexico border in its emergency and other departments. The system has activated command centers at all five of its hospital campuses, some of which are about 10 to 20 miles away from the Mexican border.
Scripps is already experiencing high volumes in its emergency departments, making it especially important to prepare for any level of additional surge, CEO Chris Van Gorder and Chief Medical Officer Ghazala Sharieff, MD, noted in a May 10 memo to employees.
"While the end of Title 42 may not mean a surge of patients in our hospitals, it is important we prepare for that possibility," the memo reads. "As always, our mission is to care for anyone in need. Our readiness now will help equip our clinical and non-clinical teams to do just that."
The health system has also prepared surge tents for possible deployment and internal transfer teams to relocate patients from its Chula Vista hospital to other Scripps' locations if needed. Scripps is collaborating with San Diego-based Sharp Healthcare, which is making similar plans.
The U.S.-Mexico border has seen greater volumes of asylum seekers in recent weeks, with Border Patrol agents averaging more than 8,000 arrests per day compared to the 4,000 to 5,000 daily averages recorded in the winter, The Wall Street Journal reported May 11.