As Wisconsin citizens continue to shelter at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, WHA is ramping up efforts to remind the public and policymakers that people experiencing potentially life-threatening health conditions should not hesitate to utilize Wisconsin’s safe and available emergency departments.
WHA engaged this week with multiple media covering the effects of the pandemic. WHA President and CEO Eric Borgerding on April 29 discussed the availability of the state’s emergency departments
with Milwaukee’s TMJ4, stressing how public perception is likely skewed due to coverage of national and overseas hotspots showing conditions much different than what has happened in Wisconsin.
“We really need to make sure that folks know our EDs, our urgent care facilities . . . have been open, safe and accessible all during the pandemic,” Borgerding said.
Borgerding and WHA Chief Medical Officer Mark Kaufman, MD also appeared on a Metropolitan Milwaukee Association Chamber of Commerce (MMAC)
daily briefing April 28, sharing in-depth analysis of WHA’s
COVID-19 data dashboard and what it reveals about Wisconsin health care’s effective response to the pandemic. Borgerding discussed how some state hospitals and systems have started to carefully phase back in to providing care temporarily halted due to federal guidance in mid-March.
Borgerding and Dr. Kaufman’s presentation and analysis was followed by MMAC’s discussion of state government’s response to the pandemic and its effects with State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau).
Meanwhile, WHA’s Government Relations department has been proactively working with the entire Wisconsin State Legislature and staff, helping provide suggested social media messaging elected officials can use on their Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. Legislators have been especially active on social media during the pandemic and can effectively engage with their constituents to remind them how important it is to utilize available and safe emergency care.
For more information about WHA’s messaging during the COVID-19 pandemic, contact WHA Vice President of Communications
Mark Grapentine.