Amid healthcare staffing shortages throughout the state, Governor Larry Hogan on Monday issued an executive order to boost state hospitals and nursing homes.
The order will build on the state’s previous initiative to allow nursing students to serve as licensed practitioners by including licensed practical nurses, certified nursing assistants, and certified medical technicians.
The new initiative will also provide more licensing flexibility for pharmacists and technicians to help support the pharmacy workforce.
It will also allow respiratory therapy students to assist the emergency medical services workforce.
“We continue to take short-term actions to support our health care workforce as it deals with the Omicron wave and the influx of unvaccinated patients,” Hogan said in a statement.
Hogan’s office also said that COVID-19 hospitalizations in Maryland are dropping at a fast rate.
Since peaking at 3,462 on Jan. 11, hospitalizations have dropped to 2,361 as of Tuesday.
“All of the data continues to show very encouraging trends, with many of our key health metrics consistently and substantially declining,” Hogan said, “We ask Marylanders to remain vigilant, to keep doing the things that can keep us safe, and to get boosted for maximum protection against these variants.”
