COLUMBUS, Ind. — Bartholomew County’s long-term care facilities are awaiting the arrival of National Guard units after Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb activated the Army reserve force in response to sharp increases of coronavirus cases in nearly every county in Indiana.
On Monday, nearly 400 soldiers from the Indiana National Guard will be deployed to 133 of the state’s hardest hit long-term care facilities. By mid-November, 1,350 Guard members are expected to be at 534 long-term care facilities across the state.
The Guard will help the facilities with infection-control protocols, routine health screenings, data entry, among other tasks, said Brig. Gen Dale Lyles, the adjutant general of the Guard, on Wednesday.
The group of soldiers that will be deployed Monday underwent training at Camp Atterbury near Edinburgh on Friday.
The move, announced by Holcomb on Oct. 21, aims to protect the state’s “most vulnerable” population, elderly people and those with serious health problems living in nursing homes and other facilities who are among the most at-risk from severe illness due to the coronavirus.
For more on this story, see Sunday’s Republic.
