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Many hospitals in the area are feeling the pressure as employees quit in search of less stressful jobs.
MADISON, Wisconsin – In a state of nearly six million people, there are only about 90 intensive care beds available. It sounds like a title from last winter, and it basically was. This reality has returned.
That’s why a group representing hospitals in our area is begging people to do their part to avoid relapsing into the deadly season we experienced not so long ago.
The South Central Wisconsin Health Emergency Preparedness Coalition (SCWIHERC) has been working hard to try to keep up with the latest wave of COVID. Hospitalizations for the virus have quadrupled from what they were in July, according to Coalition data, and intensive care visits have reached more than five times their level during that time.
Coalition coordinator Jennifer Behnke says understaffing compounds the problem.
“We can always get more stuff, we can always improvise with spaces, but if we don’t have the staff we need to take care of these patients, that’s always our biggest limiting factor,” said Behnke.
Many hospitals in the area are feeling the pressure as employees quit in search of less stressful jobs. But in more urban areas, hospitals have the advantage of having a larger pool of potential staff, which means more patient transfers from more rural areas.
“They’re a bit more resilient to this flow of health care rotation because they have additional staff pools that they maybe could tap into,” Behnke said.
Even with the reinforcements, large hospitals are still suffering, especially as flu season approaches, according to Dr Amy Franta of SSM Health.
“Our intensive care capacity in the Dane County area is overloaded,” says Franta. “Our concern is what is going to happen as we move into the wave. “
Dane County’s vaccination rate remains one of the highest in the country, with nearly 70% of the eligible population vaccinated. Now, doctors are urging the public to help them mitigate the threat by wearing masks, washing their hands and getting vaccinated.
“We really ask our communities to help us help them, ”Behnke said.
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