JACKSON, Miss. — The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency is currently contracting with four vendors to provide medical personnel to 61 hospitals statewide to meet the staffing shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mississippi State Department of Health is coordinating with applicable licensing boards to vet the licenses of all healthcare workers who are contracted. Vendors are selected based on pricing and staffing availability. The state is currently contracting with the following vendors: H&S, Snapnurse, GQR and Maxim. Additional vendors have been contacted to assist in medical staffing shortages.

“We are doing whatever it takes to get boots on the ground in our hospitals. Today, we are deploying over 1,000 healthcare personnel within 9 business days of the initial request. Our top priority is to ensure that every Mississippian who can get better with quality care receives that care. We are grateful for those that are answering the call to alleviate the pressure on our healthcare workers. To the current healthcare staff in the state, we thank you for your continued dedication to our fellow Mississippians,” says Governor Tate Reeves.

Starting August 24, 2021, 808 nurses, three certified registered nurse anesthetists, 22 nurse practitioners, 193 respiratory therapists and 20 paramedics will deploy to 50 hospitals. Onboarding medical staffing is a phased-in approach. Level 1 and 2 trauma hospital requests have been fulfilled; Level 3 hospital requests are being processed and fulfilled. All staffing requests should be met by the end of the week.

“Medical staffing provided by the state is for the COVID-19 mission to address the surge of patients due to the Delta Variant. Our staff has worked tirelessly to give our hospitals the relief they need and deserve. We are working with FEMA to secure reimbursement for these contracts worth roughly $10 million a week statewide for eight and a half weeks. MEMA stands ready to coordinate any additional resources needed,” says MEMA Executive Director Stephen McCraney. MEMA is requesting an expedited federal reimbursement from FEMA to cover the costs of medical staffing contracts.

The medical staffing needs advertised in the original ‘request for quote’ included 65 physicians, 920 registered nurses, 41 CRNAs, 59 nurse practitioners (APN), 34 physician assistants, 239 respiratory therapists and 20 EMT paramedics. Nineteen vendors supplied RFQs.

Current hospitals with deployment orders for medical personnel as of August 24, 2021.

UMMC	George Co Hosp – Lucedale	Jefferson Davis Community – Prentiss
St. Dominic	Delta Health Med – Greenville	Pearl River Co – Poplarville
North MS Medical Center	Merit Health Rankin	Merit Health River Oaks – Flowood
Merit Health Central	North MS Med – West Point	Merit Health Biloxi
Forrest General Hospital	Merit Health Madison	Southwest MS Regional Med – McComb
Rush Foundation Hospital	Baptist Mem – Golden Triangle	Methodist Olive Branch
Singing River – Pascagoula	Anderson Regional – Meridian	Delta Health NW Regional – Clarksdale
Merit Health Wesley	Oktibbeha Co Hosp – Starkville	UMMC Grenada
Singing River – Ocean Springs	North MS Med Gilmore – Amory	Baptist Memorial Booneville
MS Baptist Med Center – JXN #10	Magnolia Regional Health-Corinth	Merit Health Natchez
Memorial Hospital – Gulfport	Tippah Co Hospital	Ochsner Medical Center Hancock – Bay St. Louis
Greenwood Leflore	Magee General – Magee	Panola Medical Center – Batesville
Singing River Gulfport	Webster Health Services – Eupora	Sharkey Issaquena Comm Hospital – Rolling Fork
Merit Health River Region	Jefferson Co Hospital – Fayette	Claiborne Co Medical Center – Port Gibson
Baptist Memorial – Desoto	South Sunflower – Indianola	HC Watkins Memorial – Quitman
Baptist Memorial – North MS	Baptist Memorial – Calhoun	Copiah Co Medical Center – Hazlehurst
King’s Daughter	Baptist Memorial – Yazoo	UMMC Holmes County – Lexington
South Central – Laurel	Perry County General – Richton	Lackey Memorial Hospital – Forest
Baptist Memorial – New Albany	Marion General – Columbia	Field Health System – Centreville
Walthall General Hospital – Tylertown	KPC Promise Hospital of Vicksburg	Alliance Healthcare – Holly Springs
Highland Community Hospital