VERMONT — Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, one thing has remained constant: the need to help fellow Vermonters is great. If you have the capacity to step in to help, please do. The Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living (DAIL) is in need of nurses and caregivers for both paid and volunteer positions. 
DAIL has contracted with TLC Home Care, a staffing agency based out of Williston, to support emergency long-term care facility staffing needs caused by COVID-19. This professional staffing pool represents new capacity within our system and will provide for emergency staffing deployment of up to 40 staff (RNs, LPNs, LNAs, and unlicensed caregiver/ supports), specific to long-term care COVID-19 outbreak response needs. 
This contract is managed by DAIL as part of the Healthcare Outbreak Prevention and Response rapid response team and is a solution to augment critical staffing shortfalls that arise in long term care facilities when an outbreak situation is identified and staffing is impacted by the virus. It is short-term and not intended to solve all staffing concerns, yet will meet crucial needs to bridge gaps for COVID-19 outbreak situations. 
If you are a clinician or caregiver with time to spare in serving in this temporary emergency staffing pool, please visit tlcnursing.com/ vermontheroes. 
The intent is not to shift existing health care workforce into this pool but rather a call out for those with additional capacity — Vermonters with the ability to help, including part time workers, retirees, unemployed individuals, college students, and others with capacity and interest in helping — are encouraged to step up and fill short-term gaps in the system caused by COVID-19 outbreaks. 
Additionally, Vermonters — clinical and non — are needed to fill roles on Vermont’s volunteer Medical Reserve Corps and SerVermont programs to meet various COVID-19 related needs. 
Visit covidstaffing.vermont.gov for more information on how you can answer this call to action. 
DAIL sends deep gratitude to the incredible long-term care facility workforce for their dedication and skill in caring for the most vulnerable Vermonters in the most unimaginable of circumstances. We are in this together and these resources will provide relief to this vitally important segment of Vermont’s health care sector.