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California National Guard Deployed To Nursing Homes

U.S. Army Spc. Makayla Montz and Pfc. Marc Jules Ocampo, California National Guard medical support team members, prepare to work at a skilled nursing facility April 29, 2020. (Capt. Jason Sanchez/California National Guard)
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Soldiers from the National Guard are being deployed across the country to assist overwhelmed health departments and skilled nursing facilities hit hard by COVID-19.

Here in the Golden State, California National Guard soldiers are being stationed in nursing homes, doing everything from taking care of both residents' daily and medical needs to rearranging furniture and disinfecting facilities hit hard by the virus.

They're also traveling the state running mobile pop-up testing sites.

Colonel James Ward, the Joint Surgeon for the state National Guard, said health facilities can get strapped for staff fast. "It's unexpected, a bunch of people get exposed, and then they call the state and say, 'Hey, we need help'," he said.

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