Federal medical team to assist at Eisenhower Health hospital in Rancho Mirage

July 14, 2020

Media contacts:

Riverside County Joint Information Center 951-955-5087

Lee Rice

Public Information Officer, Eisenhower Health 310-210-6192

Public contact: 2-1-1

Federal medical team to assist at Eisenhower Health hospital in Rancho Mirage

A team of federal doctors and nurses are arriving at Eisenhower Health hospital Thursday to support the facility as the hospital copes with the influx of coronavirus patients.

The team of doctors, physician assistants, critical care nurses and respiratory technicians assigned to Eisenhower is part of a state of California request for federal support to medical facilities throughout California.

“We are grateful to receive this support from FEMA and the federal medical team, and I appreciate the emergency operations center team for pursuing this effort at the request of Eisenhower Health,” said Riverside County Board Chair and Fourth District Supervisor V. Manuel Perez. “These are crucial resources as we all work together at the federal, state and local levels of government to overcome this pandemic.”

The federal team is made up of active military medical personnel.

“The federal support will provide much-needed assistance to Eisenhower at a time when the entire medical system deals with the rise in coronavirus cases,” said Bruce Barton, director of the County of Riverside Emergency Management Department. “That assistance will make a difference for those who are being impacted by this virus that has taken so many lives.”

Federal medical teams are also assisting other California counties.

“The hospital is nearing capacity in our ICU and on our Covid-19 units,” says Alan Williamson, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Eisenhower Health. “Currently, we only have three more ‘staffed’ beds available in the ICU. Additionally, we are approaching 80 percent of bed capacity within the hospital, but are at virtually 100 percent of our staffing capacity. We are grateful for the support from FEMA and its Air Force Medical response team. It comes at a critical time.”

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