The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

CAMP MURRAY, WA—After consulting with local authorities, Gov. Jay Inslee and Vice Admiral (ret.) Raquel Bono, M.D, announced on April 11 a decision to utilize Central Washington medical resources to ensure our most vulnerable are protected.

The state has requested about 100 U.S. Health and Human Services (HSS) personnel and other resources recently deployed to the former Astria Regional Medical Center in Yakima now focus on long-term care facilities where COVID-19 is occurring in other parts of the state.

The number of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities with confirmed COVID-19 cases more than doubled in the first eight days of April, according to the Washington Department of Social and Health Services.

The recently closed Astria facility, was identified as suitable for 250 low-acuity patients to relieve local hospitals, will be retained and can be quickly reopened in the event of a surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations. The hospital will take patients who don’t have COVID-19 as part of the state’s overall response, said Karina Shagren, a spokeswoman for the Washington Military Department, which has been involved with the planning and building of care facilities.

Inslee said the decision was a positive move in the fight against the coronavirus. “Thanks to the cooperation of communities and businesses across Washington, ‘Stay Home, Stay Healthy’ is slowing the spread of the virus,” he said. “But we can’t let up now, and we need to continue to explore a range of options and assess the best use of our alternative care facilities to ensure they are always available where the need is greatest.”

 “When we first began aggressive hospital surge planning, we were concerned that Eastern Washington lacked the same capacity as Western Washington,” said Bono, director, Washington State COVID-19 Health System Response Management. “However, Yakima and the surrounding area have done such a good job, building their capacity and creating their own relief system at the local ‘Freedom Field,’ that the state can now take more of a support role.”