Hospitals in Texas are being aided by more than 8,000 contract workers who've been tapped by the state to help short-staffed units facing a surge of COVID-19 patients, according to The Texas Tribune.
The extra staff will help hospitals relieve some front-line workers from grueling workloads as well as expand capacity in a state that's nearing its winter record for COVID-19 hospitalizations.
Originally, 5,600 medical personnel, made up of mostly nurses and respiratory therapists, were going to aid Texas. However, that number was recently bumped up to 8,100, according to an Aug. 26 news release from Texas' governor's office.
At the height of the state's winter surge, nearly 14,000 additional healthcare workers were sent to Texas.