Governor Steve Bullock announced that over 100 contracted medical staff from across the country are deployed in Montana to assist hospitals with responding to COVID-19 and filling in gaps in healthcare worker shortages due to quarantine or isolation.

“The situation in Montana is serious. Hospital capacity is stressed and our healthcare workers are exhausted, with many unable to work from being exposed to the virus,” said Governor Bullock. “I know I join all Montanans in being incredibly grateful for this additional medical staff to ensure critical care continues during this time. For these national teams and our frontline workers here at home to be successful, we need every Montanan to stay home as much as possible, wear masks, social distance, and avoid gatherings.” 

The medical staff have been deployed to Montana through a partnership between the State of Montana and the employment agency, NuWest Group, to help respond to the rising caseload and a rising number of Montana healthcare workers in quarantine or isolation. The medical staff come from across the nation and will not pull from existing employees within the medical system in Montana. Medical staff include registered nurses and respiratory therapists.

There are currently 110 medical staff on the ground that arrived throughout the weekend working in hospitals at or nearing capacity in Montana, with an anticipated total of 200 staff deployed before Thanksgiving. They will serve until the end of this year. The majority of the medical staff are currently assisting Benefis Health System, Billings Clinic, Kalispell Regional Medical Center, and St. Vincent Healthcare. Medical staff are also deployed at Bozeman Health, Community Medical Center, Great Falls Clinic Hospital, Livingston Healthcare, Providence St. Patrick Hospital, and St. James Healthcare. 

“Hospitals are in critical need of travel RNs and RRTs that are ready and able to take rapid response assignments throughout the State of Montana this week,” said NuWest. “We are urgently deploying RNs with Covid experience within the ICU, ED, Med Surg, or Tele, as well as Respiratory Therapists.”