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National Guard deployed to aid southern Indiana hospital

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Indiana National Guard members have been deployed to a southern Indiana hospital to support medical staff facing increased workloads fueled in part by patients being treated for COVID-19.

Seven National Guard members arrived Wednesday at Clark Memorial Health in the Ohio River city of Jeffersonville to assist hospital staff during the next one to two weeks.

Ruth Schmidt, the hospital’s chief operating officer, tells the News and Tribune the hospital’s need for help arises both from the number of COVID-19 patients staff are treating daily, and the influx of people with health conditions that worsened because they may have avoided getting care earlier in the pandemic.