Governor Mills Announces Deployment of Maine National Guard Across the State

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Governor Janet T. Mills (D) at a Recent Indoor Event in Portland.

Governor Janet T. Mills (D), the first woman Governor of Maine, announced today that members of the Maine National Guard will deploy to ten health care facilities across the state this week to help relieve hospitals experiencing capacity challenges and to maintain access to inpatient health care for Maine people amid a sustained surge of COVID-19.  It is anticipated that this and other steps the state has taken will provide an estimated total of 80 additional inpatient hospital beds to care for Maine people.

As of today, 378 Maine people are hospialized, including 106 in critical care and 58 on ventilators.  There are currently 63 available intensive care unit (ICU) beds available in Maine.

The Maine National Guard will be used in non-clinicial support roles.  Following exensive discussions with Maine’s hospital systems, the Governor is deploying 38 National Guard members beginning December 16, 2021 as follows:

  1. Fifteen (15) National Guard members to Saint Joseph’s Manor in Portland and twelve (12) National Guard members to Central Maine Medical Center (CMMC) in Lewiston.  This deployment will relieve a bottleneck that will allow hospitals to provide inpatient care for more people with COVID-19.
  2. Eleven (11) National Guard members among Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway, Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington, St. Josephen’s Hospital in Bangor, Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Northern Light Mercy Hospital in Portland; and Northern Light Health in Waterville.  An additional two members of the Guard will be deployed to Rumford Health, in Rumford and Bridgton Hospital in Bridgton on December 27, 2021.  There Guard members will help clinicl staff administer monoclonal antibodies to prevent serious illness from COVID-19 and keep Maine people out of critical care, preserving intensive care unit (ICU) capacity.

The deployments are scheduled through January 26, 2022, subject to need.

For more background information on the Governor’s announcement to deploy members of the Maine National Guard in non-clinical support role positions, please visit post herein dated December 8, 2021.