AUGUSTA — Following engagement with Maine’s hospitals, Governor Janet Mills announced today that the 169 members of the Maine National Guard she activated earlier this week will deploy to 16 health care facilities across the state beginning January 20.

Governor Mills activated the additional Guard members in response to record-high COVID-19 hospitalizations in Maine, the majority of which are among people who are not vaccinated.

As of today, there are a near record high 424 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Maine, including 109 in critical care and 57 on ventilators, leaving only 46 adult intensive care unit (ICU) beds available in Maine.

Beginning January 20 and running through February 25, Guard members will deploy to serve in non-clinical support roles at the following locations:

The Guard members will help hospitals maintain capacity by freeing up clinical staff to focus on patient care. Their assistance will also open additional beds at nursing facilities, in swing bed units, and at other “decompression sites” that accept patients discharged from hospitals. This, in turn, will allow hospitals to safely discharge more individuals, relieving a bottleneck that will then allow hospitals to provide inpatient care for more people with COVID-19 and ensure delivery of health care for other serious health problems.

These deployments were developed in collaboration with Maine hospitals with the goal of complementing existing staff and available resources to open additional beds and address need. The deployments are scheduled through February 25, subject to need.

These additional Guard members will join the more than 202 Guard members already on orders supporting COVID-19 response efforts, including supporting hospital decompression; staffing testing centers and vaccine clinics; helping inventory and deliver personal protective equipment (PPE), testing supplies, and vaccines; and supporting case investigation and laboratory testing.