Greg Abbott, Texas Governor, speaks at a press conference held at the Texas State Capitol in Austin on Tuesday May 18, 2020.
Texas Governor. Greg Abbott requests 2,500 more medical professionals from all over the country to ease the pressure on the state's healthcare system caused by the Covid surge.
Two weeks ago, Texas started to request external assistance. Abbott announced that Texas Department of State Health Services had coordinated the first wave of more than 2,500 workers from out-of-state to respond to the Delta variant. Texas now has approximately 8,100 medical professionals, including nurses, respiratory therapists, and other outside personnel.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, Covid patients currently occupy more than half of all Texas intensive care beds. This compares with 30% nationally.
Abbott stated in a statement that "the medical equipment and personnel deployed by DSHS" will be crucial support for our health care facilities when they treat COVID-19-infected patients.
According to the statement, Texas Department of State Health Services also distributes ventilators, hospital beds and oxygen machines. HHS reported Thursday that more than 25% of Texas' almost 52,000 hospital inpatients are suffering from the coronavirus.
