RI In Need Of More Health Care Workers As Hospital Surge Looms

PROVIDENCE, RI — As Rhode Island prepares for a surge in coronavirus hospitalizations in the coming weeks, Gov. Gina Raimondo is calling for health care workers to again step up, if they are able.

Raimondo made a similar call early in the pandemic, asking anyone who was able to step up and help the state contend with the rise in cases and hospitalizations. Now, more than eight months later, the health care system is even more taxed, she said, since many providers have been working around the clock throughout the pandemic, and are facing burnout as the second wave of the pandemic ramps up.

Current trends indicate that the state will reach its current coronavirus hospital capacity within "days to weeks," which will trigger surge capacity plans, and then necessitate the use of the field hospital in Cranston. To meet this additional capacity, more health care workers are needed, the governor said Thursday.

"We need you now," she said, asking all semi-retired or part-time health care workers to consider stepping up.

More information about postings is available online.

To help remove boundaries to applying, the state extended the emergency licenses issued earlier in the pandemic for out-of-state providers for an additional six months.