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Kemp says Georgia will keep paying for nurses in pandemic
December 18, 2020 GMT
ATLANTA (AP) Gov. Brian Kemp says the state of Georgia will keep paying for extra nurses to assist hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities that have struggled to find staff and keep up with demand because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Republican governor made the announcement Thursday during a news conference at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta where Public Health Commissioner Kathleen Toomey and an intensive care unit nurse received a coronavirus vaccine in an attempt to demonstrate that it’s safe and effective.
Kemp said Georgia will commit as much as $70 million to pay staffing agencies that are providing extra nurses through March. Georgia is on track to spend $250 million on the program this year. The state has spent federal coronavirus aid on the program so far. Kemp said he hopes the federal government will free up more money to cover the costs, but spokesman Cody Hal
ATLANTA (AP) Gov. Brian Kemp says the state of Georgia will keep paying for extra nurses to assist hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities that have struggled to find staff and keep up with demand because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Republican governor made the announcement Thursday during a news conference at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta where Public Health Commissioner Kathleen Toomey and an intensive care unit nurse received a coronavirus vaccine in an attempt to demonstrate that it s safe and effective.
Kemp said Georgia will commit as much as $70 million to pay staffing agencies that are providing extra nurses through March. Georgia is on track to spend $250 million on the program this year. The state has spent federal coronavirus aid on the program so far. Kemp said he hopes the federal government will free up more money to cover the costs, but spokesman Cody Hall said Georgia would use state money if no federal money is available.
Beginning to an end of a pandemic - Northeast Georgia Health System begins administering COVID-19 vaccines to staff Staff members at Northeast Georgia Medical Center show off their arms after receiving the first round of COVID-19 vaccinations Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020. - photo by Nick Watson
Seven Northeast Georgia Health System frontline health care workers pulled up their sleeves Thursday, Dec. 17, and flexed after receiving the first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. John Delzell, the incident commander at the health system, said he sees these first doses as “hope for the light at the end of the tunnel.”
“I feel like it’s the beginning to an end of a pandemic,” said Tamika Johnson, the charge nurse in the mobile medical unit who received one of the first doses.
Seven health care workers at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville became the first Northeast Georgians to receive the COVID-19 vaccine Thursday evening after doses of the vaccine arrived in the region.
They were the first of about 5,000 frontline staff and physicians to get the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which arrived at the Gainesville hospital Thursday morning, where it is being stored is specially ordered freezers to keep it at proper temperatures.
“It feels like Christmas came early,” Carol Burrell, president and CEO of Northeast Georgia Health System, said. “It’s been a long eight months for our organization and our community, as we continue to see record numbers of COVID patients. We still have a long journey ahead of us, but simply having a vaccine in our hands is a tremendous and positive step forward.”