Area hospitals have had help to treat COVID-19 patients over the past couple of weeks thanks to the arrival of units from the U.S. Army and Navy.
On July 9, an 85-member enhanced Urban Augmentation Medical Task Force began treating patients at five San Antonio hospitals, according to a release.
Recommended Videos
Critical care nurses, emergency room nurses, medical surgical nurses, and respiratory specialists from the unit are serving at Christus Westover Hills Medical Center, Baptist Health Center, Christus Santa Rosa Medical Center, Methodist Metropolitan and University Hospital.
“It’s an honor to be in San Antonio, Texas, providing care to patients alongside local hospital staff,” said U.S. Army Capt. Sarah Kopaciewicz, a UAMTF-627 critical care nurse embedded with Christus Westover Hills Medical Center. “I was doing similar work, treating COVID-19 positive patients, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State before being employed here.”
RELATED: Gov. Abbott deploys five US Navy teams to South, Southwest Texas to help combat COVID-19
A second 85-member from the U.S. Army Medical Command arrived on July 15 to help support United Memorial Medical Center in Houston.
A third 85-member unit began work at McAllen Medical Center in McAllen on July 17.
Also in Texas, a U.S. Navy Acute Care Team and four U.S. Navy Rural Rapid Response Teams arrived in San Antonio, July 16, and will support four locations in South Texas.
The U.S. Navy ACT began work on Sunday supporting Valley Baptist Medical Center-Harlingen in Harlingen.
The four U.S. Navy RRRTs also began work on Sunday supporting Val Verde Regional Medical Center in Del Rio, Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center in Eagle Pass, and Starr County Memorial Hospital in Rio Grande City.
RELATED: Most young virus cases in Texas county diagnosed this month