Dr. Ryan Westergaard
MADISON, WI (WTAQ) — As COVID-19 hospitalizations rise in Wisconsin, there is concern that hospitals in Wisconsin will soon be strained to a critical point: where they may be unable to provide services for people who otherwise need them.
That concern was raised Thursday by Bureau of Infectious Diseases Dr. Ryan Westergaard during a press briefing.
“It’s when they can’t safely care for the number of people in their hospital because they don’t have staff, or they don’t have space, and have to divert admissions to other hospitals,” Westergaard said. “We are very close to that happening in some areas of the state.”
It could threaten the lives of people who don’t even have COVID-19, if emergency wards are full.
“As this becomes more prevalent, more widespread, there may be instances where people who have needs for emergency medical care won’t have a place to go in time,” he warned.
Only 8% of the state’s ICU beds are currently available as of Thursday. The state has seen a sharp rise in the daily death total in the past week, with another 58 COVID-19 related deaths reported Thursday. The seven day average for deaths stands at 46. It was 13 a month ago.
Deputy DHS Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk says they’re trying a number of things to try to bolster the state healthcare system, including reaching out to recently retired nurses to return to work, and making it easy for those with recently lapsed licenses to renew them.
The alternate care facility in West Allis is slowly admitting more patients, as well. 14 of it’s over 500 beds are being used.
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