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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The rapid spread of the COVID-19 delta variant is |
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threatening to overwhelm hospitals as they struggle with low |
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staffing levels and the related shortage of ICU beds; and |
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WHEREAS, Across Texas, there are 23,000 more unfilled |
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registered nurse positions than there are job-seeking nurses, |
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according to the Texas Workforce Commission; medical personnel are |
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suffering from severe burnout as the pandemic drags on, driving |
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high rates of turnover; because other states are also struggling |
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with the delta variant, our understaffed hospitals struggle to hire |
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contract nurses or transfer patients when necessary; and |
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WHEREAS, The registered nurse shortage threatens to both |
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decrease access to health care and lower its quality; even if a |
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hospital does have adequate ICU beds, it can only use those that |
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have adequate staff coverage; and |
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WHEREAS, In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic escalated, the |
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Texas Division of Emergency Management and Department of State |
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Health Services provided communities with guidance, oversight, and |
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resources to support hospital care; using federal relief funds, |
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DSHS contracted with staffing companies to recruit medical |
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professionals for deployment to COVID-19 hot spots around the |
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state; and |
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WHEREAS, Once vaccination efforts began to reduce patient |
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numbers in 2021, the state started to demobilize supplemental |
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staff; however, not long after the state's last nurse contracts |
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ended, the delta variant commenced its rampage through the |
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still-considerable ranks of the unvaccinated; then, in a July 29, |
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2021, letter, TDEM appeared to shift the pandemic response to |
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county and city leaders, leaving them to address the delta variant |
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surge by seeking and disbursing federal Coronavirus Local Fiscal |
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Recovery funds; however, throughout the pandemic, state guidance, |
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management, and oversight have proven crucial in developing a |
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coherent response, and the lack of same is likely to result in |
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confusion and inefficiency, as well as deleterious bidding wars and |
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staff poaching among more densely populated communities with better |
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resources and rural areas already desperately scrambling to compete |
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for scarce staff; and |
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WHEREAS, The urgency of the current public health crisis |
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requires all levels of government to work together under clear |
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guidance and coordination, and the continued leadership of TDEM and |
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DSHS is essential to ensure that CLFR funds are utilized with |
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maximum effectiveness and that all Texans have access to |
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high-quality health care at this critical juncture; now, therefore, |
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be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas, |
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2nd Called Session, hereby direct the Texas Division of Emergency |
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Management and Department of State Health Services to establish and |
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maintain a system of guidance, coordination, and oversight to |
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address hospital understaffing and ICU bed shortages during the |
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COVID-19 pandemic; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the chief of the Texas Division of |
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Emergency Management and to the commissioner of the Texas |
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Department of State Health Services. |