At the request of Wisconsin hospital groups, a field hospital in Milwaukee will be open next week for COVID-19 patients.
Deb Standridge is CEO of the Wisconsin State Fair Park Alternate Care Facility. “So a patient would be transferred from, potentially, a Fox Valley hospital down to the alternate care facility. Patients there would be relatively healthy, be able to ambulate on their own or have the assistance of one person. And they would need more oxygen therapy.”
Standbridge took part in a media briefing on Wednesday with Governor Tony Evers and other administration officials. “I think the easiest way to understand the alternate care facility is exactly what it says: it’s an alternative to a hospital setting.”
Saying our state is in a dangerous place and overwhelming our health care system, #DHSWI Secretary-designee Andrea Palm joined @GovEvers at today’s #COVID19_WI media briefing to announce the opening of an Alternate Care Facility. Watch: https://t.co/siDbn6dDZI
— WIDeptHealthServices (@DHSWI) October 8, 2020
Standridge said patients will be ambulatory, but may require oxygen and other treatments. “They may need IV medications or additional medications, to ensure that they are healthy enough to be discharged home.”
Department of Health Services Secretary designee Andrea Palm said a second facility, at Madison’s Alliant Energy Center, isn’t as far along.
“It will require considerably more time to stand up, should that be necessary. So just to set expectations . . . it is not flip switch ready like the one in Milwaukee is,” Palm explained.
The Wisconsin State Fair Park Alternate Care Facility will be available to accept patients by next Wednesday, October 14, which will allow hospitals to focus on the most acutely ill patients.