Wisconsin’s governor has issued an emergency order bring in out-of-state health care workers to help hospitals stresses by a surge of coronavirus cases, according to an article on the WISN website.
The order provides for temporary interstate license reciprocity for healthcare providers to work in Wisconsin facilities, extends licenses that may expire during the federal emergency declaration for 30 days after its conclusion and makes it easier for healthcare providers with a recently lapsed license to apply for reinstatement.
At the rate this virus is spreading in Wisconsin, health officials said it could be a matter of a few weeks, before hospitals are stretched thin.
"Our situation here in southeast Wisconsin is currently not as problematic. Our ICUs are more than 85 percent full, but the hospitals in this region have larger staffs and many more beds," Medical College of Wisconsin President and CEO Dr. John Raymond said in the article.
Some Wisconsin hospitals are wait-listing patients, or sending them to other facilities, according to an article on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel website.
The cities of Green Bay, Wausau and the Fox Valley are particularly hard hit. Bellin Hospital in Green Bay was at 94 percent capacity last week.
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