Oregon counties requesting emergency help getting mobile morgues
PORTLAND, Ore. — At the start of the pandemic, hospitals were in desperate need of personal protective equipment.
A year and a half later, the needs of hospital workers are much grimmer.
"We’ve had some very specific resource requests for additional storage, essentially for decedents," Andrew Phelps, the director of Oregon's Office of Emergency Management (OEM), said. "Whether those folks have passed away due to COVID or other illnesses, we know that we are up against some pretty significant barriers when it comes to being able to store bodies."
Several hospitals have already brought in trailers to act as mobile morgues, including Providence Portland and Providence St. Vincent. Now, other counties and hospitals are asking for similar assistance from the state.
Josephine, Tillamook and Lane counties have asked for trailers to help store bodies. Tillamook and Josephine's requests have been fulfilled and Lane's request, which the county notes is proactive, is still pending.
In the Portland-metro area, OHSU and Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center have also asked for mobile morgues. According to OEM, OHSU's ask was "fulfilled via hospital-to-hospital mutual aid agreements with Kaiser Permanente."
Legacy's request is also pending.
Phelps says the state isn't close to running out of resources, yet, but it is preparing for that potential.
"We are working not just with, again, the private sector and state agencies and other resources to get additional capacity, but we also know that we have connections with our federal partners from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to request even more assistance if it comes down to that," Phelps said. "We expect to be able to maintain capacity within the state, but it’s incumbent on all of us making decisions to keep ourselves healthy and reduce the risk of further spread of COVID," Phelps said.
The challenge for Phelps is twofold: keep public health top of mind while also respecting those who've passed.
"I want to make sure that while we’re maintaining a focus on public health and those issues, that we are balancing that with ensuring those who’ve died are treated with dignity, respect and according to their wishes and beliefs," Phelps said.