At the request of Wisconsin hospital groups, a field hospital in Milwaukee has opened this week for COVID-19 patients, according to an article on the WRN website.
The Wisconsin State Fair Park Alternate Care Facility began to accept patients on October 14, to allow hospitals to focus on the most acutely ill patients.
Patient could be transferred from stressed hospitals around the state 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, according to Deb Standridge, CEO of the Wisconsin State Fair Park Alternate Care Facility.
A second facility, at Madison’s Alliant Energy Center, is also being prepped to be an alternate care facility.
Some Wisconsin hospitals have had to wait-list patients, or send 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 in early Oct.