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Oregon National Guard arrives to help at Asante

The 150 soldiers deployed to Asante will provide much-needed nonclinical support.
Julie Hale, ARRMC’s director of Support Services, conducted a walk-through Friday for a group of leaders from 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment Soldiers.

The Oregon National Guard has arrived at Asante, where 150 soldiers will be assigned nonclinical support functions in Jackson and Josephine counties. The soldiers will go through Asante orientation over the weekend and begin their duties on Monday.

They’ll be fairly evenly split between our facilities in Jackson and Josephine counties, serving in areas such as Nutrition Services, Materials Management, Environmental Services, Security and the COVID hotline. They are also needed at Asante’s drive-thru test COVID-19 testing sites, which are seeing record volumes. The Medford location is conducting an average of 600 tests a day and the Grants Pass site, 280 a day. Wait times can be up to two hours, and recent conflicts have required staff to call security.

Many of the soldiers come from Southern Oregon, where they hold other local jobs when not deployed. The guard’s Asante deployment runs through September, but could be extended to the end of the year if the surge continues. Asante also asked the state for clinical personnel support and is awaiting a decision on that request.

Tags: hospitals, National Guard, nonclinical, support
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1 Comment. Leave new

  • Michelle Nelson
    August 24, 2021 1:31 pm

    THANK YOU, service members!!!! Thank you for being available and helping wherever possible. You are appreciated.

    Reply

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