National Guard called in to help contain COVID outbreaks at two Minnesota nursing homes - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Over the past 10 days, the National Guard has dispatched small teams of medical professionals to facilities at opposite ends of the state where dozens of residents and staff have been sickened, and where staffing levels became so depleted that they turned to the state for help.

“If you have to call out the National Guard, that is an extreme step — and it should be a call out to all of us that we need to invest in staffing and retention in nursing homes,” said Joseph Gaugler, a professor who specializes in long-term care and aging at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

Late last week, Sacred Heart Care Center, a 59-bed nursing home, requested assistance from the National Guard to help contain a COVID-19 outbreak that has sickened nearly a third of its staff and about 60% of its residents, county officials said.

The nursing home last month reported two dozen positive cases of the virus among its residents and staff as well as two resident deaths, according to Minnesota Department of Health records.

On Saturday, a nurse and four medical technicians with the National Guard arrived at the nursing home in medical scrubs to provide help with resident care for up to two weeks.

The county also plans to bring in counselors to help staff who are suffering from “compassion fatigue and burnout” from caring for residents during the outbreak, which began in late August, said Pam Kellogg, division manager at Mower County’s health and human services department.

3, the National Guard sent a team of five medical professionals to help with resident care.