New Hampshire National Guard being deployed to help manage COVID-19 surge in NH, governor says

December 8, 2021

WMUR 9 | By KC Downey

CONCORD, N.H. – Dozens of New Hampshire National Guard members will be deployed soon as part of the governor’s plan to help manage the winter surge of COVID-19 in the state.

Gov. Chris Sununu announced Wednesday that 70 Guard members will be assigned to work at hospitals dealing with a surge in patients. There are 462 active COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state, the highest that number has been since the pandemic began.

“That’s a huge resource. They make it so easy,” Sununu said.

The Guard members will help hospitals with backroom tasks to allow those hospitals to use their internal staff in a more efficient way, Sununu said.

“We saw what the Guard did with PPE delivery, with the vaccination sites. I mean, it’s really great,” Sununu said.

Help is also coming from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. A few dozen workers will be sent to New Hampshire to help hospitals with the highest COVID-19 burden. Plus, FEMA is also sending a team of 30 paramedics to help hospitals statewide, Sununu said.

Sununu also gave updates about other recent efforts to increase hospital capacity, including that the Executive Council has approved a $6 million contract for the previously announced “strike teams” to be put in a position to work with long-term care facilities to help manage hospital capacities.

A recent push to make the licensure process for health workers easier has resulted in 60 additional applications being approved this week, Sununu added.