by Scott McClallen
Gov. Tim Walz on Wednesday requested staffing support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for long-term care facilities and hospitals.
“Minnesota’s case counts are on the rise, which means the need for staffing support will continue to increase,” Walz wrote in a letter to FEMA administrator Pete Gaynor.
“Securing this additional staffing support, in addition to extending the current staffing support on the ground in Minnesota, would significantly assist our state during this tenuous time.”
Walz requested an additional 10 medical professionals to be sent to short-staffed facilities to help the state combat rising cases of COVID-19 and a 30-day extension of existing federal support.
For months, the state has attempted to reduce the number of deaths in long-term care facilities across the state – the hardest hit population from COVID-19.
For months, the state has attempted to reduce the number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes.
COVID-19 has killed 2,530 Minnesotans. Long-term care residents accounted for 1,760, or 70%, of the states COVID-19 deaths.
The novel coronavirus has disproportionately harmed older people.
The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity estimated that nursing homes and assisted living facilities account for 42% of the nation’s total COVID-19 deaths.
In Minnesota, 92% of those killed by COVID-19 were 60 years of age or older.
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Scott McClallen is a staff writer covering Michigan and Minnesota for The Center Square. A graduate of Hillsdale College, his work has appeared on Forbes.com and FEE.org. Previously, he worked as a financial analyst at Pepsi.
