State announces federal aid coming to Sparrow, joining other Michigan hospitals

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - Monday, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) announced the federal government has granted Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s request for additional staffing assistance at a sixth Michigan hospital, Sparrow Hospital in Lansing.

Per the agreement, the federal government will send up to a 25-person medical team to support Sparrow Hospital’s doctors and nurses as they treat an overwhelming number of COVID-19 and other patients.

“As we continue facing down the Omicron variant, I am grateful to our federal partners for their continued support. They are providing critical relief to Michigan’s hospitals,” said Gov. Whitmer. “Our health care professionals have been on the frontlines of the pandemic for nearly two years, and I urge Michiganders to do their part to keep themselves safe and help our hospitals. Get vaccinated and if you are eligible, get your booster, to keep yourself out of the hospital.”

The team will begin treating patients Feb. 7 and give support over the next 30 days. In addition, a civilian Disaster Medical Assistance Team was dispatched to Henry Ford Hospital in Wyandotte earlier this month before being backfilled by a DoD team.

In December, Sparrow Health System formally requested federal staffing assistance as it was overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.

The request came after military medical workers were sent to Covenant Healthcare in Saginaw, Beaumont Hospital in Dearborn, and Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids.

More on COVID in Michigan hospitals: Beaumont: Health care is at a breaking point

“We are grateful for this assistance for our incredible Sparrow caregivers, who have been tirelessly protecting the community since this pandemic began,” said James F. Dover, Sparrow Health System president and CEO

On Jan. 14, President Joe Biden announced another Michigan hospital would receive medical teams to assist, this time at Henry Ford in Dearborn.

So far, five Department of Defense (DoD) teams have provided support at Michigan hospitals: Beaumont Hospital in Dearborn, Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Covenant HealthCare in Saginaw, Mercy Health Muskegon, and Henry Ford Hospital in Wyandotte.

As of Jan. 21, 4,286 Michiganders are hospitalized for COVID-19.

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