Federal medical team arrives to support Atrium Pineville’s emergency department

PINEVILLE, N.C. — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has deployed a 16-person National Disaster Medical System team to Atrium Health Pineville to support staff with a surge in the hospital’s emergency department.

The medical team has one physician, two advanced practice providers, four registered nurses and four paramedics.

Channel 9′s Gina Esposito learned the team, who traveled from Denver, Colorado to Pineville, will be working 12-hours on and 12-hours off for 14 days.

“We are on this team, as we are called up. We travel wherever we are needed to travel to lend a hand,” said Marc Scherschel, team commander of the Department of Health and Human Services Disaster Medical Assistance Team. “With this most recent omicron surge, we have seen the highest census over the last three years.”

While most hospitals are also seeing more patients right now, Pineville is in a unique situation as it is close to the state line, the hospital gets patients from both Carolinas.

“The challenges of an influx of patients from South Carolina, so we see that filling not only our emergency department but our hospital as well,” said Dr. Sheela Myers, chief medical officer of Atrium Health Pineville.

Scherschel and his team will be working in the ER department. They will stay on-site until Feb. 13.

“We’re extremely grateful for the support of our state and federal governments, specifically Gov. Cooper, NCDHHS and HHS, to share this team of medical professionals for our Atrium Health Pineville emergency department,” said Dr. James Hunter, senior vice president and chief medical officer for Atrium Health. “Our dedicated health care heroes at Atrium Health have worked very hard throughout the pandemic, and like many others across the country, are feeling the effects of this latest surge. Knowing their work is being recognized and supplemented by this team to lend a hand is very meaningful for them.”

The team is on call three months out of the year and Scherschel said the pandemic has kept them busy.

“In the last two, two and half years, you pretty much go out every time you are on call. Pre-COVID you’d go out for the big hurricanes, things like that,” Scherschel said.

Atrium Health said the team’s assistance comes at a good time, although it admits that help is always needed.

“We’ve had a team that has worked tirelessly for now going into our third year of the pandemic, so there hasn’t been a moment where help in any shape or form hasn’t been welcomed,” Myers said.

If Atrium Health still needs help after Feb. 13, it can request an extension or a new team from the federal government.

Last month, Atrium Health partnered with Gov. Roy Cooper and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to request help from FEMA.

Statewide COVID-19 response is also getting support for patient transfer.

25 ambulances arrived in North Carolina on Feb. 3, in addition to the 25 ambulances previously deployed to North Carolina on Jan. 4.

The ambulances will be distributed to the following counties: Brunswick (2), Chatham (3), Cherokee (1), Durham (2), Forsyth (4), Franklin (1), Graham (1), Guilford (4), Haywood (1), Hertford (1), Lee, (1), Lenoir (1), Macon (1), Mecklenburg (7), Nash (3), New Hanover (2) Onslow (2), Pasquotank and Camden (1), Pender (1), Randolph (3), Rowan (2), Rutherford (1), Wake (4) and Wilson (1).

The ambulances also include staffing for each.

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