Nearly a week after it opened, the state’s alternate care coronavirus facility at State Fair Park in the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis has yet to see its first patient.
“We have yet to see a patient in the alternate care facility, and are in close contact with hospitals about the use of the facility, and where else we might need to be considering capacity across the state,” said Department of Health Services Secretary designee Andrea Palm.
Palm says decisions about whether or not patients are transferred to the alternate care facility is at the discretion of those patients and their doctors. The State Fair Park facility is currently staffed with about 50 health care workers, and can accommodate up to 350 patients, who would already be closer to recovery from the coronavirus, nearing discharge.
The Evers administration said the Alternate Care Facility was opened at the request of Wisconsin hospital groups, due to rising numbers of coronavirus patients in parts of the state.