ROCK SPRINGS — Ten members of the Wyoming National Guard have been providing some welcome relief in a few areas at Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County.

Members of the Wyoming Military Department recently were requested by the Wyoming Department of Health, and activated by Gov. Mark Gordon, to temporarily assist with voluntary contact tracing efforts and other associated administrative tasks at healthcare facilities across the state.

Ten members of the Wyoming National Guard stepped up to help at Sweetwater Memorial beginning Friday, Dec. 4. Justin Francis, Alexander Stanley, William Romkee, Garrett Dance, Scott Defoe, David Nicol, Shelbie Jones, Kristy Welch, Megan McLaughlin and Paul Ortega will be assigned duties through Dec. 16. They will help with Emergency Room, Medical/Surgical, and ICU patient transport services; help
with paperwork at the Drive-Thru Swabbing Station; help with door monitoring; and help with inventorying Personal Protective Equipment in Materials Management/Central Supply, said MHSC Human Resources Director Amber Fisk.

MHSC Incident Commander Kim White said aiding with PPE inventory is particularly helpful at this time as healthcare facilities again are beginning to face nationwide shortages with some PPE.

“Even if it’s just for a short time, their help is extremely appreciated,” White said. “It truly provides some relief to our staff. We hope the Governor can arrange to continue this program to provide relief to healthcare facilities across the state for the next few months.”

MHSC CEO Irene Richardson agreed.

“We are honored and grateful to have the National Guard here to support our staff as we manage the COVID pandemic,” Richardson said. “We would like to thank the Department of Homeland Security and the Governor for their prompt response to our needs and special thanks to the men and women of the Guard who are helping us.”