HARRISBURG, Pa. — Note: The video is from Jan. 28.
The Department of Health said Monday that a state-directed healthcare strike team was deployed over the weekend at Crozer Health facilities in the southeast region of the commonwealth.
The team included registered nurses and respiratory therapists provided by General Healthcare Services under a contract with the Department of Health, according to Acting Secretary Keara Klinepeter.
“Across the state we are seeing the highest number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 since the pandemic began more than two years ago,” Klinepeter said in a press release. “The Wolf Administration is working simultaneously on a multilayered approach across the healthcare continuum to relieve the strain to ensure people who need care can get it.”
“As our dedicated staff continue to provide high-quality care for our patients, it is extremely meaningful for all of us to know that additional resources are on the way to get through this surge,” Crozer Health CEO Peter Adamo said. “We appreciate the support from the Department of Health and Wolf Administration.”
The department is contracting for health care professionals through GHR, which is focusing its staff engagement and recruitment on healthcare professionals from outside of Pennsylvania to avoid heightening current staffing limitations within the state.
State strike team members, which may include physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses and respiratory therapists, provide short-term staffing assistance for seven to 14 days. Hospitals will be responsible for managing day-to-day work assignments for state strike team members.
“I am pleased that we are able to authorize Crozer Health’s request for staffing assistance,” Klinepeter said. “We want to ensure hospitals and healthcare workers are ready to care for everyone who comes in now and we want hospitals to develop their own longer-term sustainable staffing solutions. We know that staffing resources are scarce and will be prioritized to address the most acute needs and maximize system-wide impact.”
“We applaud and appreciate this temporary solution because the catastrophic staffing crisis we have in our hospitals and healthcare facilities could jeopardize our entire healthcare system and put our communities at risk,” said Matthew Yarnell, President of Service Employees International Union Healthcare Pennsylvania. “Deployment of the strike teams demonstrates the importance of tackling the staffing crisis and taking measures to lift the burden on our frontline nurses and caregivers. We look forward to working on longer-term solutions.”
This staffing assistance is separate from the federal strike teams deployed to hospitals in Scranton and York and extended into March, the department said.