State Emergency Management Agency Archives

Missouri’s specialized medical team continues helping communities during pandemic

October 26, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

When a disaster strikes in Missouri, the state’s Disaster Medical Assistance Team springs into action when seconds count. The specialized team, known as MO DMAT-1, has been around for many years to serve the public when any community is ripped apart by a natural disaster. According to Planning Section Chief Larry Woods, Missouri is one of the only states in the nation with a statewide team providing such aid during the community’s most dire time.

Missouri’s specialized medical team continues helping communities during pandemic

Team members include advanced clinicians (nurse practitioners/physician assistants), medical officers, registered nurses, certified nurse aides, pharmacists, logistical specialists and administrative specialists.

Since the spring, MO DMAT-1 has been working to help the state get a handle on a different type of disaster – COVID-19. Caty Luebbert with the State Emergency Management Agency says Missouri has hired about 200 team members since the early days of the pandemic. The team currently includes more than 350 members.

Luebbert says the team has completed more than 170 COVID-19 related missions so far.

“Most of that has been assisting with testing efforts or supporting staffing for local communities, whether that be at hospitals, healthcare providers or other long-term care facilities,” she says. “Some of the other stuff that they’ve been involved in has been like medical screenings. So, they’ve been at some of the state facilities providing temperature checks. They’ve also done some delivery of essential personal protective equipment.”

Members are also delivering remdesivir, an experimental COVID-19 drug said to reduce recovery time for seriously ill coronavirus patients in a hospital. Some workers are helping in five of Missouri’s Veterans Homes. The long-term care centers have had at least 71 veterans die from COVID-19 since September 1.

Luebbert says local communities request help from the state and then Missouri can move in to respond to certain needs.

“They’ve been critical to supporting our local communities during the pandemic and to adjust and adapt for missions, especially on a moment’s notice, has really helped these local facilities be able to provide care to their patients,” says Luebbert. “Many of the facilities that they have provided support for staffing or testing have truly expressed their appreciation over the course of COVID-19. That’s why it’s so important for us to continue recruiting team members because we plan to continue providing these critical services for the foreseeable future.”

The state continues to hire for DMAT positions. Click here for more information.

Missouri makes progress on building up its personal protective equipment supply

August 26, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Missouri continues to work on its supply of personal protective equipment to help battle COVID-19. State Department of Public Safety Director Sandy Karsten tells Missourinet the pricing for the gear is better than it used to be.

Missouri Department of Public Safety Director Sandy Karsten (Photo courtesy of governor’s Flickr page)

“For example, the N95 masks that you’ve heard a lot of people talk about – in March and April timeframe, those were around $4 to $5 per mask. Now we’re getting them for 67 cents on up to 73 cents. It just varies,” she says.

The equipment, like masks, face shields, gowns and gloves, are used by Missouri’s first responders and healthcare workers.

The state gets daily shipments of the items – allowing Missouri to make regular deliveries to first responders and healthcare workers and to build up a stockpile.

“I feel better with where we are now compared to where we were earlier – at the beginning of this COVID, but we still have got a long way to go to get to the levels we need to have a sustained supply of PPE. I feel better but I wouldn’t say good yet,” Karsten says.

The Office of Administration will soon take over that equipment responsibility from the State Emergency Management Agency.

“It looks like we are going to be positioning ourselves for the next year to year and a half,” she says.

Karsten was at a State Emergency Management Agency warehouse this week in Jefferson City when 400,000 masks were being loaded and delivered to schools in St. Louis and St. Charles Counties.

Missouri woman whose mom died from COVID delivers photo memorial to governor’s office

August 11, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A St. Louis woman whose mother died from the coronavirus in June is calling on Missouri’s governor and other elected officials to take stronger action to control the spread of the disease.

St. Louis resident Angela Kender briefs Capitol reporters in Jefferson City on August 11, 2020. Kender’s mother died from COVID in June (photo courtesy of Ben Peters at House Communications)

Angela Kender traveled to Jefferson City on Tuesday to deliver copies of photos of Missourians who’ve died from COVID to the governor’s office. Kender also joined House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, for a Statehouse news conference. Kender says COVID families have had enough.

“Missourians are dying due to terrible leadership, and in this state, lack of policy entirely. The continued deaths are preventable and that is why I am here today. My mother’s life mattered,” Kender says.

Kender supports a statewide mask order, that includes schools. She brought 15 photos of Missourians who have died from COVID.

“I am here today to shine light on these faces that are gone,” says Kender. “Because if you look at these faces and you don’t realize that it could easily be you or your loved one, you are sadly mistaken.”

State health officials say there have been 1,312 COVID deaths in Missouri.

Missourinet contacted the governor’s office to see if they have a response to Kender’s comments. We have not heard back, at this time.

Governor Mike Parson (R) opposes a statewide mask order, telling Missourinet at a July 22 press conference that it’s not the state’s place to mandate everyone to wear a mask.

“I am not anti-mask and I’ll say that clearly again. I wear a mask from time-to-time when I feel that need is there. I am not anti-mask, what I am is anti-mandates,” Parson said that day.

The governor also announced last week that 1.8 million cloth masks have been made available through the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), and that state officials are developing a plan to distribute them to school districts. Parson also said last week that $7.5 million of Missouri’s Coronavirus Relief Fund has been allocated to a cost-share program with local counties, to help schools cover personal protective equipment (PPE) costs. The money will also help schools with cleaning and medical supplies for school buildings and buses.

Missouri Education Commissioner Dr. Margie Vandeven testified Tuesday before a House committee in Jefferson City. Vandeven says the state has distributed as much federal COVID aid to schools, as it can at this time.

As for Leader Quade, she wants Governor Parson to call a special session about the COVID-19 pandemic.

“With the pandemic still spreading throughout Missouri, the governor’s top priority should be on protecting lives,” Quade says. “Instead, the governor wants to talk about anything but COVID-19. However, we will not let the human toll of this disease be forgotten.”

Quade says Missouri’s school districts have not received proper guidance from the Parson administration, about this fall.

Quade and Kender were also joined Tuesday by a Kansas City teacher, who represents a new group called “Missourians for Educational Change.” He expresses safety concerns about school reopening, and says it should be virtual.

Missouri House committee to hear Tuesday testimony from Vandeven and Williams about COVID-19

August 7, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s health director and the education commissioner will both testify Tuesday in Jefferson City before a bipartisan Missouri House Committee that’s related to the coronavirus.

Missouri Commissioner of Education Dr. Margie Vandeven briefs Capitol reporters in Jefferson City on July 6, 2020 (file photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

The Missouri House Special Committee on Disease Control and Prevention will meet Tuesday morning at 10:30 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City. The committee is chaired by State Rep. Jonathan Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit, a private practice general surgeon. The committee’s ranking Democrat is State Rep. Kip Kendrick, D-Columbia. Kendrick is the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee.

The committee will be examining the decision by school districts in reopening buildings to students, and will get an update on Missouri’s use of federal CARES Act funding.

The state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) says Missouri now has 57,379 confirmed cases, up from 55,321 on Wednesday.

Chairman Patterson tells Missourinet that DHSS Director Dr. Randall Williams will testify on Tuesday morning, about the trajectory Missouri is on. Dr. Patterson is also interested what will happen if/when a COVID-19 vaccine is developed. Patterson wants to know if DHSS has a plan in place.

Another key part of Tuesday’s hearing will involve Missouri Commissioner of Education Dr. Margie Vandeven, who will testify about schools.

Chairman Patterson notes that he has a nine-year-old and a six-year-old in public school. He says the number one issue he’s hearing about from constituents is about school plans.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson says his office has worked closely with the State Departments of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and DHSS to address questions about reopening.

Earlier this week, DESE and DHSS released updated schoool reopening guidance, which addresses frequently asked questions. DESE and DHSS recommend that local school leaders require school staff members to wear face coverings, “as the data indicates COVID-19 transmission is more likely from adult to student, than from student to adult.”

Contact tracing is also addressed in the report from DESE and DHSS.

Governor Parson says the state is working to help school districts with personal protective equipment (PPE), noting that 1.8 million cloth masks have been made available through the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).

The governor says DESE and SEMA are currently working to develop a plan to distribute the masks to Missouri school districts.

Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, announced the committee’s creation earlier this year. Chairman Patterson notes this will be the committee’s second hearing: they met on March 2 and heard testimony from Dr. Williams.

At that time, Dr. Williams testified there had been no confirmed cases in Missouri. About 100 people had been self-monitoring, according to testimony.

Governor Parson says Missouri is one of the states the White House is concerned about, with increasing COVID-19 cases. The governor told Capitol reporters this week that Vice President Mike Pence called him on Sunday, to offer additional assistance and resources to battle the pandemic.

Two Missouri lawmakers: major PPE donation highlights importance of Missouri State Defense Force (AUDIO)

May 21, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Two state lawmakers from eastern Missouri’s St. Charles County have worked with a former Missouri State Defense Force member to secure 3,000 protective face shields for health care workers across the state.

Missouri State Defense Force members Sgt. Tim Coen (left) and Col. Art Bottorff carry boxes of protective face shields, along with State Rep. Adam Schnelting, R-St. Charles, and Missouri House Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann, R-O’Fallon (May 2020 photo courtesy of Pro Tem Wiemann’s office)

House Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann, R-O’Fallon, and State Rep. Adam Schnelting, R-St. Charles, partnered with former Missouri State Defense Force member Col. Art Bottorff. Wiemann says the donation will be distributed by the Missouri Hospital Association, through the State Emergency Management Agency.

“And will go to hospitals that are in the most highest need that have a low supply of face shields,” Wiemann says.

The shields will also go to health care workers in high-need clinics, along with EMS and shelter employees.

Wiemann tells Missourinet he’s grateful for the former members of the State Defense Force, for the donation. Wiemann, Schnelting and Col. Bottorff coordinated the donation, after working with GetMePPENational and its affiliate, Boston Scientific. They also worked with the Purdue University Parents Association.

The face shields were made by Boston Scientific.

Pro Tem Wiemann describes face shields as an extra layer of protection, for workers who wear masks.

“When you’re in a medical environment, there are liquids, there are airborne things that are floating in the air, that someone could cough in your face, and it may not necessarily block them from getting into your eyes or other parts of your body,” says Wiemann.

As for Representative Schnelting, he’s a former member of the Missouri State Defense Force. The freshman Republican is crediting the organization for helping to secure the donation. Schnelting notes the health care employees will be receiving CDC and FDA-certified protective face shields.

Schnelting, who serves on the Missouri House Special Committee on Homeland Security, notes the State Defense Force has a dual mission: homeland security and disaster response.

“So securing items like PPE for those on the front lines in a scenario like this pandemic plays right into the purpose of the State Defense Force,” Schnelting says.

The State Defense Force was a military reserve force in Missouri that was inactivated due to budgetary concerns, on the same day the state received its first case of COVID-19. Col. Bottorff praises the Legislature for restoring funding for the Force, last week. The Colonel also says he hopes Governor Mike Parson “will see the great value of reactivating the State Defense Force.”

Schnelting says the shields will be deployed to health care workers, with the greatest need in the state.

Pro Tem Wiemann credits Bottorff for identifying the face shields, which were being warehoused in another state.

“We knew we needed to move quickly because these face shields are in high demand,” Wiemann says.

Wiemann and Schnelting also praise Missouri’s physicians, nurses, EMS and other first responders who are working around the clock to keep residents safe.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Missouri House Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann, R-O’Fallon, and State Rep. Adam Schnelting, R-St. Charles. It was recorded on May 18, 2020:

(VIDEO) Highlights from today’s COVID-19 briefing in Missouri

April 13, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

At least 114 people have died and 4,388 have tested positive for the coronavirus in Missouri. Two of the most recent deaths include in western Missouri’s Bates County and northern Missouri’s Linn County.

Gov. Mike Parson

During today’s Capitol briefing, Gov. Mike Parson said Missouri’s first makeshift hospital will begin taking coronavirus patients Tuesday. The former Quality Inn hotel in the St. Louis suburb of Florissant can serve more than 100 patients. The temporary care site is the first one in Missouri and the nation.

St. Louis and St. Louis County have consistently made up about half of Missouri’s total positive cases.

State Public Safety Director Sandy Karsten says National Guard members, emergency management employees, public health workers, and others have been working for the past few days to convert the location.

“We are facing an unprecedented challenge,” says Karsten. “And this was an unprecedented rapid response to support our medical personnel and potentially save lives.”

Karsten says the National Guard’s 139th Air Wing and the State Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Medical Assistance Team are providing the medical staffing.

The State Emergency Management Agency is recalling 48,000 KN95 masks used in the fight against the coronavirus. Karsten says the masks were delivered to first responders statewide on April 2 and 8.

“Testing over the weekend by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services showed that some of these masks did not meet standards,” says Karsten.

Karsten says first responders should immediately pull the masks out of circulation and make sure the items are not used. The State Emergency Management Agency will be collecting the masks.

“We put out the specifications for the vendors. We also check references and we ask for samples. In some cases when samples cannot be provided, we ask for photographs of the product that is to be produced. Now since our experience over the weekend, we are establishing a working group to look into this more closely.”

Missouri has about 2,000 ventilators available among its roughly 150 hospitals to help patients suffering from the coronavirus. State Health and Senior Services Director Randall Williams says he watches daily the number of ventilators being used in Missouri.

“Every day we’re using about 1,000 of them – 1,100. So at this point, we’re encouraged as we think about surge that at this point we are equipped, even in areas that have more concentration, like St. Louis, to meet that surge capacity,” says Williams.

Of the state’s roughly 10,800 hospital beds, about 4,100 are available.

President Donald Trump says he has the authority – not governors – to lift any social distancing orders at the state level. Gov. Parson, a fellow Republican, says the president “well knows” what the authorities of the states are and what the president’s are.

“I think he, like all of us, are anxious to get the economy back on its feet, moving forward. And I think that’s what he cares about when he says things like that,” says Parson.

The coronavirus crisis has led to many business closures and mass layoffs.

“The president is going to work with us governors. He’s proven that time and time again,” says Parson.

During a briefing Monday, Trump said numerous provisions of the Constitution give him such authority but did not name them.

View today’s briefing below.

Hawley calls for surge of personal protective equipment into Missouri hospitals

March 29, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A U.S. Senator from Missouri who serves on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill says the state’s hospitals need more personal protective equipment (PPE).

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R) speaks to Missourinet during an interview on March 25, 2020 (photo courtesy of Senator Hawley’s office)

Senator Josh Hawley (R) tells Missourinet that he’s spoken to the leaders of almost every hospital in the state.

“All of them … rural, urban, suburban … all of them need more,” Hawley says. “They need more tests, they need more protective equipment, they need more masks.”

Hawley says the hospitals need a large infusion of the equipment.

“We’ve got to surge this into the hospitals, frankly I think that the FDA has been too slow in getting this stuff out there,” says Hawley.

Hawley is in regular contact with Governor Mike Parson (R), who announced Saturday evening that Missouri’s Strategic National Stockpile warehouse has shipped about 5,000 gloves and 2,717 cases of masks to hospitals, EMS and long-term care facilities in the state.

The governor also says about 43,000 face shields have been shipped, along with 908 cases of surgical gowns. There are about 18 to 30 surgical gowns in a case, depending on the size.

Parson also says PPE for first responders have been purchased, and that the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has ordered millions of items. They include 6.6 million surgical masks, 5.8 million gloves, 4.3 million N-95 masks, 214,000 containers of disinfecting wipes and about 74,000 safety goggles.

The state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) announced on Sunday afternoon that there are now 903 confirmed coronavirus cases in Missouri, in addition to 12 deaths.

As for Senator Hawley, he says Missouri hospitals will also need more ventilators, and he praises President Trump for invoking the Defense Production Act. The president invoked it on Friday, ordering General Motors (GM) to produce ventilators for the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Politico” reports President Trump wants to see GM produce the ventilators at their recently closed plant in Lordstown, Ohio.

Missouri lawmaker battling coronavirus urges governor for assistance on hospital supplies

March 22, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A veteran Missouri lawmaker who has tested positive for the coronavirus is worried that hospitals could run out of vital supplies, including personal protective equipment (PPE).

This is a photo of State Rep. Joe Runions, D-Grandview, taken at Kansas City’s St. Joseph Hospital on March 19, 2020. He’s tested positive for coronavirus, and requested that the photo be shared with Capitol reporters in Jefferson City

State Rep. Joe Runions, D-Grandview, is one of Missouri’s at least 90 confirmed COVID-19 cases. We’ll get an updated number of confirmed cases from the state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) tonight.

Runions has asked that a photo of him at Kansas City’s St. Joseph’s Hospital be shared with Capitol reporters. The photo was taken on March 19. While Runions remains hospitalized, he’s no longer on the ventilator and is breathing normally.

The 79-year-old Runions spoke to Missouri Governor Mike Parson (R) on the phone today, from the hospital. Runions says he spoke with the governor about his experiences and observations as a COVID-19 patient.

“I also urged him to do all in his power to send the necessary supplies directly to our hospitals as quickly as possible. I believe the governor understands the challenges our hospitals are facing and will take the necessary actions,” Runions says, in a news release.

Runions also sent a letter to Governor Parson, after their phone conversation. In the letter, Representative Runions urges the governor to do everything in his power to prevent Missouri hospitals from becoming overwhelmed during the pandemic.

Runions says his doctors at St. Joseph Hospital asked him to seek the governor’s assistance on PPE, because they’re worried they will run out of vital supplies.

“Since I am in isolation, every time a doctor or nurse comes in to check on me, they must put on all manner of gear to protect themselves,” Runions writes. “However, stocks of that equipment are rapidly running low, and doctors are deeply concerned about whether those stocks will be replenished fast enough to keep us with demand. Our hospitals need these supplies.”

There are some supplies coming in, and more are expected.

State Rep. Joe Runions, D-Grandview, has tested positive for coronavirus. He is seen here speaking on the Missouri House floor on February 18, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

During Saturday’s press conference at the State Capitol in Jefferson City, Governor Parson and state Department of Public Safety (DPS) Director Sandy Karsten announced that personal protective equipment orders have been delivered to 101 hospitals and to 22 EMS providers from the National Strategic Stockpile.

And during a Wednesday Capitol news briefing, Director Karsten announced that DPS and the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) were working to get hundreds of thousands of pieces of PPE to local law enforcement officers and other first responders. She emphasizes the importance of equipment like masks and gowns.

“We expect the first orders of that to arrive March 24, and we’re already making plans to distribute those pieces to our partners,” Karsten said on Wednesday.

But Representative Runions worries about demand.

“I have witnessed first-hand how much of these supplies are being used up treating COVID-19, and I am just one patient. I’d say they are using 20 sets of supplies on me every day. The process of getting these supplies directly to hospitals must be greatly speeded up,” Runions writes.

Runions also says his doctors tell him are still aren’t enough testing kits, and is asking the governor to do anything he can to expedite the availability of the kits.

Governor Parson has said the state is working with the University of Missouri to expand COVID-19 testing, which should increase testing capabilities by thousands across the state.

The governor also notes the Mercy Hospital recently set up a drive-through testing site in Chestefield, and notes Quest Diagnostic and LabCorp are now testing. Governor Parson also notes that Lee’s Summit private lab Viracor will have the ability to do more than 1,000 tests each day.

As for Runions, he says he’s getting better but that it will be a long recovery. His focus now is on helping Missouri hospitals and medical staff.

Missouri House leaders in both parties have requested that all House employees stay out of the Missouri Capitol for at least the next ten days.

Parson expects SBA to approve his coronavirus request for Missouri businesses

March 19, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor anticipates that the federal government will offer low-interest disaster recovery loans to Missouri small businesses impacted by COVID-19 disruptions.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson briefs Capitol reporters about the coronavirus on March 19, 2020 in Jefferson City (photo from Missourinet’s Alisa Nelson)

Governor Mike Parson has directed the state Department of Economic Development (DED) and the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to seek assistance for businesses through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

DED Director Rob Dixon tells Capitol reporters that the governor is requesting assistance through SBA’s economic injury disaster loan program.

“What that would do, we would allow small business loans, primarily for businesses that have a difficult time obtaining finance from a traditional lending source, to utilize this program to help them through these difficult times,” Dixon says.

Director Dixon expects a decision soon, on the governor’s request.

“For a for-profit business, it would allow for up to a $2 million loan and a 3.75 percent interest rate,” says Dixon. “For a non-profit organization, it would allow for up to a $2 million loan for a 2.75 percent interest rate.”

These would be 30-year low-interest loans, through SBA.

The governor is warning that thousands of Missourians will lose their jobs, due to coronavirus. Missouri’s bipartisan congressional delegation has written a letter supporting the governor’s SBA request. Every member in both parties signed the letter.

Parson and Dixon note Missouri businesses are worried about their long-term viability. The governor expects SBA to approve his request.