SAN ANTONIO – A delegation of bipartisan Bexar County state lawmakers wrote a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday in support of a request made by San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff for more state contract nurses in San Antonio and Bexar County hospitals.
The letter, sent by Nirenberg and Wolff on Monday, asked the state to send additional state-contracted nurses as soon as possible due to a “dramatic surge in hospitalizations.”
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County hospitals already have 411 state-contracted nurses and respiratory therapists helping amid the current surge in COVID-19 cases.
But with Metro Health this week changing the COVID-19 level for San Antonio and Bexar County to “severe” after the positivity rate reached 27.3% and a 285% increase in hospital patients from Christmas, more help is needed in hospitals, the delegation said. On Friday, there were 1,028 hospitalizations reported in Bexar County.
“While our Bexar County hospitals have surge plans, the situation is dire and we are seeing hundreds of nurses out every day. This surge has not only brought more patients into the ICU but has forced hospitals workers to be out as they too are receiving positive test results,” the letter from the state lawmakers said. “Additional help is needed to keep our hospital systems afloat and to provide care for patients when they are hospitalized.”
The letter was written and signed by the following state lawmakers:
- Sen. Jose Menendez, D, District 26
- Sen. Donna Campbell, R, District 25
- Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D, District 19
- Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D, District 21
- Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D, District 116
- Rep. Steve Allison, R, District 121
- Rep. Diego Bernal, D, District 123
- Rep. Elizabeth Campos, D, District 119
- Rep. Philip Cortez, D, District 117
- Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins, D, District 120
- Rep. Lyle Larson, R, District 122
- Rep. Ray Lopez, D, District 125
- Rep. John Lujan, R, District 118
- Rep. Ina Minjarez, D, District 124
You can read the letter in its entirety below: