SC National Guard stepping in to help Myrtle Beach area hospital systems
The South Carolina National Guard is stepping in to help Grand Strand area hospitals as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations surge, Tidelands Health announced Tuesday.
Clinical personnel with the S.C. National Guard will arrive in the area Wednesday to provide staffing support at Conway Medical Center, McLeod Loris, McLeod Seacoast, Tidelands Georgetown Memorial Hospital and Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital, according to Tidelands.
Horry and Georgetown counties combined have more than 7,700 cases of the coronavirus as of Tuesday, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. There have been 86 COVID-19 related deaths in Horry County and 11 in Georgetown County.
After facing a staff shortage as health officials continue to see an increased number of COVID-19 patients, Tidelands Health announced early July the hospital was considering asking the National Guard for assistance.
Tidelands Health has held free COVID-19 testing clinics across the Grand Strand. Its next testing event will be 10 a.m. Friday at at Coastal Carolina University, and Guard members will be on hand to assist, Tidelands said.
This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 12:10 PM with the headline "SC National Guard stepping in to help Myrtle Beach area hospital systems."
