Gov. Kelly signs legislation for hospital staffing, deploys National Guard

Order helps understaffed hospitals deal with COVID-19 surge. Soldiers and airmen will help at virus testing sites and PPE distribution

By

State News

January 21, 2022 - 5:02 PM

Gov. Laura Kelly signs legislation relaxing staffing regulations for hospitals and long-term care facilities. Behind her, from left, are Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer and Sen. Ethan Corson. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly on Friday praised the Legislature’s bipartisan support in passing a bill that relaxes worker qualifications for understaffed hospitals and long-term care facilities, but acknowledged it won’t solve all of their staffing problems.

The best way to help frontline employees in the fight against COVID-19, the governor said, is to get vaccinated and boosted.

“Those vaccines are safe, they are free, they’re effective, and they’re the easiest way, perhaps the only way, to protect ourselves and our loved ones,” Kelly said.

Related
January 24, 2022
January 7, 2022
November 11, 2021
March 5, 2021