THE VALUED VOICE

Eric Borgerding, WHA president and CEO, called on state leaders to come together on a unified public message that the pandemic needs to be taken very seriously during a Wisconsin Health News panel discussion November 11 on the current COVID-19 surge.

Borgerding said that WHA is engaging with policymakers to address both the capacity to treat patients as well as critical messaging for the public to take steps to reduce the rapid spread of COVID-19. He was also encouraged by new communications between Governor Tony Evers and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos to try to find common ground. 

Unity around a common message “is not a bill that you pass, at least not in Wisconsin, it’s not. It’s not a piece of legislation,” he said. “It’s more tapping into the will and willingness of our leaders of all types to get behind that messaging.”

Other panelists included Dr. Ryan Westergaard, chief medical officer for communicable disease, Department of Health Services; Tim Sheehy, president, Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce; and Kirsten Johnson, director, Washington Ozaukee Public Health Department.

All sounded the alarm that Wisconsin is entering an increasingly dire situation.

Borgerding said that staffing is significantly strained in hospitals across Wisconsin.

“Not only are we seeing demand, COVID-related demand, just almost going up at a vertical pace, truly, but it’s coming at a time when our capacity to treat that demand is becoming more and more diminished,” he said. “Hospitals can expand the physical space to make additional beds available, but there is not enough staff to care for additional patients.”

“We’re very close to a tipping point,” said Dr. Westergaard. “This could get much worse quickly and that tipping point is when we stop being able to save everyone who gets severely ill.”

”Right now, our biggest concern is making sure that our hospitals and clinics have the capacity to save everyone, while we’re doing the things in the public health world to try and stem the spread,” Westergaard said.

Johnson said local public health is also overwhelmed. Her department receives more than 400 new cases a day, but can only handle about 200. Although her office has hired more than 60 additional staff, they are no longer able to provide contact tracing for all positive tests.

Borgerding said community testing has been left to hospitals in many areas of the state. Without the help of the Wisconsin National Guard, community testing capacity would be particularly challenged as hospitals now manage rapidly increasing COVID hospitalizations.
“Hospitals and health systems can’t be the care system and the public health system at the same time,” said Borgerding.

Sheehy shared the current economic impacts of the COVID-19 surge and expressed concern about the public’s reaction to public health guidance.

“I’m just a bit perplexed at the kind of lack of a common guidance on an issue that is broad and statewide, but I’m equally perplexed about how people are reacting,” Sheehy said. “If you don’t know you should be wearing a mask, that you should social distance, that you should wash your hands and just stay out of some very challenging environments with this, you’ve got to be living under a rock. Yet here we are with escalating cases and a widespread pandemic and people still aren’t acting as if that’s the case.”

Borgerding ended on an optimistic note, praising the dedication of the “health care heroes” throughout Wisconsin who are working extremely long hours in difficult circumstances to provide care to their communities.