State Sends Out a Rallying Call for New Health Corps Initiative

As California braces for an inevitable surge in new COVID-19 cases, Gov. Gavin Newsom is trying to bolster the state’s front lines with health care workers.

With the coronavirus pandemic expected to cause a massive drain on the state’s medical resources in the coming weeks and months, and Newsom’s new executive order is calling for an all-hands-on-deck response.

The new Health Corps initiative—which saw 25,000 sign-ups in the first day—asks professionals, including those who are retired or still in school, to join the workforce.

From dentists to respiratory therapists, the call is out for people who want to help combat the pandemic. State officials assure that healthcare workers will be paid salaries and receive full malpractice insurance.

According to the initiative’s website, the state needs:

  • Physicians (MD, DO), including medical residents

  • Pharmacists

  • Dentists

  • Nurse practitioners

  • Physician assistants

  • Nurses (RN, LVN, CNA), including nursing students

  • Behavioral health professionals (psychiatrist, psychiatric technicians psychologist, psychiatric nurse practitioner, LCSW, LMFT, LPCC)

  • Respiratory therapists

  • Paramedics

  • Medical assistants

  • Emergency medical technicians

For many nursing and medical students, the temporary flexibility in certification requirements may get them into the workforce sooner.

To be eligible for Health Corps, you must:

  • Be 18 years of age or over

  • Be eligible to work in the United States

  • Have a valid driver’s license or passport, and a social security card

  • Have a valid California License for clinical practice (if you are a MD, DO, etc.)

  • OR are a medical resident or nursing student

  • Have no negative licensure/certification actions (for licensed/certified professionals)

Uncertainty looms regarding just how intense the upcoming medical surge may be, but one thing is for sure: Newsom is preparing the troops for battle.

4 Comments

  1. > States Sends Out a Rallying Call for New Health Corps Initiative

    Every Democrat politician’s dream: To be the next Franklin D. Roosevelt and have their own “New Deal”. And get elected to four successive terms.

    > State officials assure that healthcare workers will be paid salaries and receive full malpractice insurance.

    KA-CHING! Follow the money.

    “Paid salaries” from Democrat governors translate into votes for Democrat candidates.

  2. Nice idea, but who’s culpable for errors?

    Harvard’s medical school researchers estimate medical errors are the leading cause of death – somewhere between 250,000 to 440,000 per year in the US. Far more than the ‘big 3’ of heart, cancer, and respiratory COMBINED.

    Tough to get better data due to wide variation in coroner skills (not all are medical examiners) and the adage, “Doctors bury their mistakes”.

  3. > As California braces for an inevitable surge in new COVID-19 cases, Gov. Gavin Newsom is trying to bolster the state’s front lines . . . .

    Dear Mr. Smartypants Progressive Governor:

    Before you unleash your next poorly thought out grandstanding idea to grift some propulist buzz, let’s take a moment to remind ourselves of the parade of progressive populist ideas that contributed to the mess we’re in:

    1. Reusable (pathogen transmitting) shopping bags.
    2. Mass transit (“social UN- distancing”)
    3. “Homeless” programs (launchers for mobile, random, unguided free-range disease vectors)
    4. Open borders (“NOT sheltering in place”)

    So, if you feel the urge to initiate some new bureaucratic program to “do something” about the coronavirus crisis, PLEASE RESIST!

    Some people best serve the public interest by minding their own business and doing nothing. “First, do no harm”.

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