U.S. Navy team to continue working at IU Health Methodist Hospital

INDIANAPOLIS — Staff and patients at IU Health Methodist Hospital will continue to get help from a U.S. Navy team for the next month.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, approved a 30 day extension of the 20 person team's deployment last week.

"As COVID-19 cases continue to increase and hospitalization of COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients progress to all-time highs, Indiana University Health is pursuing and leveraging all available resources to support patient care and its team members," IU Health said in a statement to WRTV. "IU Health is grateful for this support in this effort to care for the people of Indiana."

The team is made of physicians, nurses and respiratory professionals who are working in medical units and the emergency department at the hospital. They arrived just before Christmas on Dec. 22.

On Tuesday, an IU Health spokesperson told WRTV there are 638 confirmed COVID-19 cases system-wide. At Methodist, the hospital is treating 177 people with the virus.

Last week, WRTV talked to some team members about their experience treating COVID-19 patients. You can hear their stories here.