 As hospitals around Kentucky continue to be overwhelmed by the latest surge of coronavirus cases, Governor Andy Beshear says the state is working to alleviate some of that pressure. Earlier this week, he announced he would be sending National Guard teams to several hospitals, including Pikeville Medical Center, to help with staffing. He also announced that he is asking FEMA to provide nursing strike teams to assist in hospitals and, if approved, Pikeville Medical Center will also receive one of those teams. Now the state is also looking to take over COVID testing for some of the hardest-hit hospitals, and once again, Pikeville Medical Center will be one of the beneficiaries. The governor said this latest move came from talking to hospital CEOs about the challenges they are facing. And what they told me to a person was, our emergency rooms are overwhelmed, and we got people that show up there just to get a COVID test. Now, sometimes they're worried. Sometimes they've been exposed, and you need a COVID test for that. Sometimes their kid's gonna play in a baseball tournament the next weekend, and you need a COVID test for that. While the emergency room is not the place to go for a COVID test, right? If you're not sick, don't go there. The reality is that people are, and that takes staff away from these hospitals that could otherwise be directly helping patients. So with several hard-hit hospitals, through contracts, we are going to take over the testing at that hospital, locate at or next to it, do all of those tests for the folks that are coming in, and thus free up extra capacity. The new arrangement begins on Friday, and will offer COVID testing from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. seven days a week. Those needing a test can schedule an appointment online at wildhealthtesting.com slash Pikeville. Walk-ins will also be accepted.