Kentucky National Guard returning to Baptist Health Corbin Friday

The Kentucky National Guard is scheduled to return to Baptist Health Corbin to augment support staff beginning Friday.

Kentucky National Guard soldiers will be returning to Baptist Health Corbin starting Friday to assist hospital staff overwhelmed by COVID-19 and the Omicron variant.

Officials announced Tuesday that 10 National Guard soldiers will be on active duty at the hospital assisting with entrance screening, traffic control, restocking supplies, supply and equipment delivery and escorting patients.

“This once again frees up staff to assist the hospital in other ways,” hospital officials noted.

The hospital received similar assistance from the National Guard back in September when 15 guard members came to the hospital as another surge of COVID–19 struck Kentucky.

The guard members coming to Baptist Health Corbin is part of a statewide deployment of 445 that are being sent to 30 healthcare facilities across the commonwealth.

Gov. Andy Beshear announced the activation Monday noting that some callouts will not be voluntary.

“We continue to see fluctuations in the number of COVID patients,” stated Anthony Powers, President of Baptist Heath.  “The omicron variant is the new threat that we face now.  We continue to encourage our community to get vaccinated, wear their masks and continue to social distance.

Baptist Health Corbin is a 273-bed, acute care facility providing a wide variety of healthcare services to the residents of Whitley, Knox, Laurel, Bell, Clay, McCreary, Harlan and Campbell County in Tennessee.