THE VALUED VOICE

Congressman Glenn Grothman recently visited SSM Waupun Memorial Hospital and ThedaCare Medical Center-Berlin to get an update from hospital leaders in his district on how they are handling the evolving COVID-19 landscape.
 
Hospital leaders detailed the many challenges that persisted throughout the COVID pandemic, particularly during the late 2021 and early 2022 delta and omicron surges. Not only did hospitals have to find creative ways to deal with severe staffing challenges, but they also had to retrofit spaces to create appropriate care settings. Grothman was able to see ventilation systems that were installed during the pandemic to create more negative pressure rooms so hospitals could safely care for the steep increase in COVID-19 patients from November 2021 through mid-January 2022.
 
Hospital leaders also discussed the challenges created by the dramatic increase in costs for nurses from traveling nurse staffing agencies and thanked Grothman for his recent support of the issue in a letter from Congress to the Biden administration.
 
Grothman was also interested in hospitals’ access to therapeutics like monoclonal antibodies and the new oral pills from Pfizer and Merck and invited discussion on how to address chronic health conditions that might increase someone’s risk of severe complications from COVID-19. Grothman also toured the intensive care units and emergency departments, which fortunately have seen a continued decrease in COVID-19 patient volumes in the last few weeks.