BY PRESS TIMES STAFF
GREEN BAY – A 20-person team from the U.S. Navy is being deployed to Bellin Hospital to support health care workers treat COVID-19 patients.
According to a press release from U.S. Army North (Fifth Army), the deployment comes at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
“Since COVID began, our military medical personnel have been committed to fighting the pandemic and supporting our local, state and federal partners and communities in need,” Lt. Gen. John R. Evans, Jr., U.S. Army North commander, said. “As we look ahead to the holiday season and 2022, we must remain vigilant in our fight, especially now as Indiana and Wisconsin are added to our supported states, and we must keep in our thoughts the service members and health care professionals on the front lines.”
Another 20-person team was sent to support Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis as part of this most recent deployment.
Similar teams have also been deployed and remain in five other states – two in Colorado, three in Michigan, two in Minnesota, one in Montana and two in New Mexico.
U.S. Army North, under U.S. Northern Command’s oversight, provides operational command of the teams.
No timeline was announced for the teams.
As of Tuesday, Dec. 21, the Wisconsin Hospital Association reported 177 people, 33 in the ICU, were hospitalized in the northeast region, which includes Brown County.
Fifty-four of those patients were on a ventilator.
It also shows just 10 ICU beds available.