As nursing home deaths from COVID-19 in Indiana surpass 2,200, Gov. Eric Holcomb will deploy the state's National Guard members next month to help protect people in long-term care facilities and nursing homes, reports Indiana's The Times.
Guardsmen will first be sent to priority areas where there is at least one active COVID-19 case before being sent to all of the state's 535 long-term care facilities. The deployment of the National Guard is meant to reduce the burden facility staff members have been facing amid the pandemic and allow them to better focus on the care of residents, according to The Times.
Guardsmen will help with screening employees and residents for COVID-19, data entry and infection control.
"If we can prevent infections in our nursing homes we will protect our hospital capacity, and, in turn, our capacity to care for others as well," Mr. Holcomb said in a press conference with local media.
The state also plans to hire retired and inactive medical professionals from the state's health reserve to assist at nursing homes.