California officials are calling for 3,000 temporary medical workers to help handle the state’s high levels of COVID-19 patients. As of Thursday, the state only had about one-third of the temporary workers they say they need. A volunteer program is proving unsuccessful after 95,000 people originally raised their hands but only 14 are now in the field due to qualifications.
Almost no help is coming from a volunteer program that Gov. Gavin Newsom created at the start of the pandemic. An army of 95,000 initially raised their hands, and just 14 are now working in the field. Very few volunteers actually met qualifications for the California Health Corps, and only a tiny sliver have the high-level experience needed to help with the most serious virus cases that are stretching intensive care units to the limit.
