Military Teams Finish First Week Of Assisting Oklahoma City Hospitals

Three medical teams from the U.S. Army and Air Force are more than one week into their month-long stint in two of the largest Oklahoma City hospital systems. 

The program, a partnership between the Department of Defense and Federal Emergency Management Agency, stationed two teams made up of 40 Air Force personnel at Integris Health, and one team of 25 Army personnel at OU Health. 

Haylee Smith RN, a nursing supervisor at Integris Health Baptist Medical Center, remembers seeing patients having to wait for beds in the intensive care unit in late January. The hospital was short-staffed, which forced medical staff like Smith to help more patients per day. 

“We would have to float nurses from our unit that were full as well down to the emergency room to care for these patients,” she said. “Our workloads would be increased upstairs.” 

Last week, military personnel has become immersed in the hospital’s workflow. 

“We’ve been able to have a lot more appropriate and safe staffing ratios with them present,” Smith said of the Air Force teams at Integris Health. “It’s given (Integris staff) a minute to have some time to have with their family.” 

Casey Woods, Chief Operating Officer of OU Medical Center, said the group of 14 Army nurses has helped fill staffing holes created partially by medical staffing becoming infected with COVID-19. 

“Those 14 additional nurses, while it doesn’t seem like a lot, really does help provide a bit of just a breather, if you will,” Woods said. 

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Yung Kim, a respiratory therapist is stationed at the Baptist Medical Center. He said their goal is to relieve Integris staff of some patients to improve their workload. 

“The beds are full, and they are incorporating our team right along with their staff and their schedule,” Kim said. “I think the staff are really appreciative that we are here to give them some relief.” 

The number of patients being admitted to hospitals with COVID-19 has decreased by nearly 50% since a spike in late January. 

The three-day average of COVID-19 hospitalizations hit an all-time high of 2,077 on January 28, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health. On Tuesday, the average was 1,058. 

Still, hospital space remains limited. On Monday, Integris, OU Health, Mercy Health, and SSM Health St. Anthony reported only two available ICU beds available between the four systems. 

The teams began the process of integrating into the systems on February 6 and 7, and will work inside the hospitals as late as March 10. Whether the teams will remain in Oklahoma City after that point has yet to be decided by federal agencies. 

Staffing challenges inside hospitals will continue to be a challenge after the military assistance leaves Oklahoma City. 

Smith said burnout among her coworkers has been a significant problem. 

“With every surge, we have less and less staff because people can’t do what we’ve been having to do,” she said. “We want to take care of people to the best of our ability but not be spread so thin.”