Over the past few weeks, Manitowoc County Emergency Services Director Travis Waack has been reporting that the number of available beds in the 10 area hospitals are starting to dwindle due to the spike in COVID-19 cases.
Waack voiced his concerns with this trend, but also said that the hospitals are working very hard to make some more available as quick as possible.
“The hospitals have plans to continue to free up space, but it’s more of a people issue than anything,” he explained. “If that staffing gets so critical, then the state would have to reach out to other states and tap into that national capacity and get workers in from places where it isn’t quite as bad right now.”
Waack used the example of New York City, where the first major hotspot popped up in the U.S. One option is the Alternative Care Facility in Milwaukee, but as Waack explains, that is not a traditional hospital.
“That is essentially for discharging patients,” Waack told SeehaferNews.com. “It’s not like you are going to admit someone initially with COVID to that facility. It’s so that a hospital who may be has someone who needs some supplemental oxygen for a couple more days, they can transport them down there and get that oxygen therapy, but free up a hospital bed locally.”
Waack went on to say that he hopes it doesn’t come to that, and reiterated the importance of following the CDC guidelines and to wear your masks.