Federal COVID-19 surge response team will lend a hand at Maine Med

File Photo / William Hall Maine Medical Center in Portland will exit the Anthem insurance network in 2023, the hospital's parent, MaineHealth, said.

Write a Comment

By Renee Cordes

To help Maine Medical Center keep up with patient needs from the ongoing COVID-19 surge, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will send a team of doctors, nurses and paramedics as early as this weekend, Gov. Janet Mills announced on Thursday.

A total of 14 federal clinicians will supplement existing staff at the Portland hospital to provide care for those with COVID-19 and other serious medical issues. Maine Med, the 637-bed flagship facility of the MaineHealth system, is the state's largest hospital. The federal reinforcements are scheduled to be in Maine through Dec. 22.

“I am grateful to the Biden Administration for quickly recognizing the seriousness of the surge in Maine and for approving our request to send a team of skilled medical professionals to help,” Mills said in a news release.

The announcement came a day after Mills said she was activating up to 75 members of the Maine National Guard to provide nonclinical support to nursing facilities and swing-bed units that accept patients discharged from capacity-challenged hospitals.

"With this federal team and our soon-to-be-deployed National Guard members, I am hopeful that we can begin to alleviate the strain on our health care system and ensure critical care for those who need it," Mills said. "I hope that our second request, on behalf of Central Maine Medical Center, is also approved soon as we continue our work to vaccinate more Maine people against this deadly virus.”

Maine and the rest of New England are currently experiencing record hospitalizations during a sustained increase in COVID-19 cases, driven almost entirely by the delta variant. The majority of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Maine are not fully vaccinated.

As of Thursday, a near-record high 373 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Maine, including 118 in critical care and 60 on ventilators. There are currently 34 available intensive care unit beds in the state, according to the governor's office.

“We’re incredibly grateful to the governor and the state of Maine for their support in securing the FEMA Disaster Medical Assistance Team at MMC,” said Dr. Andrew Mueller, MaineHealth's CEO. “This important and timely assistance will help us as we continue to address the significant capacity challenges at MMC and across our health system.”