OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — An Overland Park company is sending thousands of health care professionals to help fight the COVID-19 crisis.
Krucial Staffing will send nearly 4,000 nurses, nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists and other medical professionals from around the U.S. where help is needed.
CEO Brian Cleary said most of the workers deployed will go to New York, which is currently the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S. with nearly 45,000 cases statewide.
"This is beyond anything that we've ever done, the volume," Cleary said. "Needs keep coming, so as long as we're able to still maintain operations and fill the needs we'll keep going."
The company uses a reserve pool of medical professionals to deploy when disaster strikes. Cleary said the company quadrupled its operations during the last few days to coordinate its largest-ever deployment.
"Recruitment has not been a problem at all, which has been nice," Cleary said. "We get nurses from all over the country that are nurse practitioners, (physician assistants), respiratory therapists and we just deploy them wherever is needed."
Through Krucial Staffing's reserve program, Blue Springs resident and nurse Brandy McCauslin was deployed to New York, where she's currently working at a hospital in the Bronx.
"It's overwhelming," McCauslin said. "The numbers are increasing hourly."
She said her fellow nurses are understaffed and protective gear, like masks and face shields, is limited.
"We have to wear it for five days," McCauslin said. "It's just a limited supply."
McCauslin said the job is stressful and tiring, but her passion is helping others and not just patients.
"I want to help the other nurses," she said. "They're just so understaffed trying to take care of these patients."
McCauslin hopes folks watching back in the Kansas City area will do their part to flatten the curve.
"It's so easy to spread the virus, so if you could just stay at home or stay away from other people it would help — and wash your hands," McCauslin said.
She has advice for nurses considering deploying like she did.
"I think they should do it, but they've gotta be strong and compassionate and just stay safe and we'll get through it," McCauslin said.
