Ohio National Guard’s hospital mission cost tens of millions

​​​COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio National Guard’s two month mission providing support to Ohio hospitals during the omicron COVID-19 surge cost about $29.7 million, officials said.

What You Need To Know

• The Ohio National Guard hospital mission cost about $29.7 million
• More than 2,000 Ohio National guard members were deployed
• The deployment was funded by the federal government

The mission was federally funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion stimulus package approved in March 2021, according to state and federal officials.

Stephanie Beougher, an Ohio National Guard public information officer, said the mission cost accounts for clinical and general support to 62 hospitals. It also includes the Ohio National Guard’s work with hospitals to significantly scale COVID-19 testing in a number of cities.

National Guard teams worked at a total of 18 testing sites. 

The deployment included medical personnel who performed clinical roles in hospitals during the surge, but most of the Ohio National Guard members performed non-clinical tasks in a range of areas where the hospitals needed staffing, including transport services, food services, environmental services, as well as working testing sites.

The COVID-19 mission began Dec. 20 as Gov. Mike DeWine initially activated 1,050 members of the National Guard, primarily to support hospitals in the northeast Ohio region.

As the crisis worsened, DeWine announced in late December that he would deploy an additional 1,250 members to support hospitals throughout the state. In total, the mission involved nearly 2,400 Ohio National Guard and State Defense Force members. It was one of the largest hospital deployments by a state governor during the omicron surge. 

In mid-January, the Ohio National Guard shifted support from the northern region of Ohio to southern areas where the virus peaks later occurred. On Feb. 22, National Guard teams completed their service at the last two hospitals receiving support, bringing an end to the mission. 

White House officials said earlier in the month that the federal government would extend its 100% reimbursement of COVID-19 emergency response costs to states through July 1, which includes National Guard support to hospitals, but officials are hopeful that Ohio hospital will not need support from the Ohio National Guard again.

The purpose of the Ohio mission was to relieve the staffing strain from the number of hospitalized virus patients. 

Officials said the National Guard’s support for testing sites diverted traffic from hospital emergency rooms and increased access for residents “during a time when testing resources were limited due to unprecedented demand,” according to the Ohio Department of Health.”

“They collected more than 300,000 COVID testing samples and provided more than 300,000 labor hours to hospitals,” the Ohio National guard reported.

About two months removed from the virus peak, Ohio is in a much better status with COVID-19 levels today. The Ohio Hospital Association reported Monday that 581 patients are hospitalized, compared to 6,749 at the peak.

According to the Ohio Department of Health, 62% of residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.