National Guard brigade headquartered in Macon wages war against coronavirus

The Georgia National Guard’s 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, headquartered in Macon, returned from its most recent overseas deployment in the fall.

Now, more than 1,500 members are battling the new coronavirus on three different fronts, disinfecting nursing homes, staffing COVID-19 test sites and working side-by-side in hospital emergency rooms.

When it became clear COVID-19 was going to hit Georgia, and hit it hard, the brigade called in its Army medics to help out overwhelmed hospital staffs.

“They’re probably the equivalent of paramedics; really good at trauma and emergency work to get patients back to a higher level of care,” brigade commander Col. Anthony Fournier said. “We made sure we weren’t pulling medics who have civilian jobs as first responders or in hospitals. We have about 80, 85 medics spread out on medical support teams in 14 hospitals across the state.”

Disinfecting nursing homes

Long-term care facilities like nursing homes and assisted living homes have been hotbeds for the coronavirus across the United States and in Middle Georgia. One nursing home, Pruitt Health-Macon, reported more than 65 confirmed COVID-19 cases in April. The National Guard formed infection control teams, or ICTs, to enter these facilities and disinfect them. As of Tuesday, the 48th Infantry Brigade has disinfected more than 500 nursing homes; that number doesn’t include nursing homes in metro Atlanta, which are handled by ICTs from a different brigade.

Initially, ICTs wore tyvek suits to protect them from infection, but as supplies dwindled, soldiers have been using Army HAZMAT suits with face shields and gloves.

“They’re really loading up before they go into the nursing homes,” Fournier said. “So far, none of our guard members on these teams have contracted the virus.”

Increased testing

The National Guard has partnered with a variety of organizations to set up COVID-19 testing sites across the state. One held in Macon Tuesday at Ebenezer Baptist Church along with Historic Macon provided free tests for several dozen residents, with another free event slated for May 5. That same day, almost 13,000 new tests were reported to the Georgia Department of Public Health, the most since the pandemic began.

Kemp said the state has enough capacity to test all Georgians with COVID-19 symptoms and even some who don’t have any symptoms. There are 49 testing sites in Georgia, according to Capitol Beat, set up by GPH, the University System of Georgia and private companies, including three mobile sites. The National Guard had opened another nine.

“One thing about the guard, we have a lot of manpower and a lot of state agencies don’t,” Fournier said. “We’re setting up sites across the state where people can drive up to the site, and trained professionals will administer the nasopharyngeal test, send that to a lab and get results in 48-72 hours.

“We’re hoping to get a saliva test that’s less invasive, and we’re partnering with Augusta University to do some research on that test; they’re checking the reliability of it. If it’s good, we’re going to be able to increase our testing capacity.”

Volunteering to be on the front lines

There are roughly 4,200 members in the 48th Infantry Brigade, and those working as part of the state’s coronavirus response all volunteered to do so. National Guard soldiers are already committed to helping others, Fournier pointed out. Helping in the battle against COVID-19 is a natural extension of that.

“They’re really motivated; they want to save lives, keep folks out of hospital beds so we can save more lives,” he said. “I think the folks who volunteer to work in the National Guard are those kinds of people who want to be involved and help in times of need.”

When not deployed or working their civilian jobs, National Guard members are training for large-scale combat operations. The guard is also called on to help during natural disasters, like hurricanes.

“We don’t wait until a hurricane or a pandemic happens,” Fournier said. “That’s something our units do all the time, because we know things are coming. We train with hospitals, we train with Georgia Power, we make sure we have the right equipment.”

That training helps the guard prepare for emergencies, but it doesn’t make responding to them any easier.

“It’s tough to have patients die. Sometimes, these soldiers are the only ones with them, holding their hand,” Fournier said. “We’re keeping a close eye on the soldiers, sending chaplain teams and having behavioral health teams on standby, ready to talk. It’s an environment they’re not unused to.

“We’re dealing with it the best we can.”

This story was originally published April 29, 2020 at 10:33 AM.