Home Ideas COVID-19 Wisconsin hospitals more prepared for COVID-19 surge, WHA president says

Wisconsin hospitals more prepared for COVID-19 surge, WHA president says

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Lauren Anderson

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May 18, 2020 1:32 pm

Eric Borgerding

SR-Health-Care-Eric-Borgerding — Eric Borgerding

There’s a “night and day difference” between Wisconsin hospitals’ readiness to handle a potential surge in COVID-19 cases today compared to two months ago, said Eric Borgerding, president and chief executive officer of the Wisconsin Hospital Association. As they resume non-urgent services and primary care appointments, health care providers are prepared to respond to a

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There's a "night and day difference" between Wisconsin hospitals' readiness to handle a potential surge in COVID-19 cases today compared to two months ago, said Eric Borgerding, president and chief executive officer of the Wisconsin Hospital Association.

As they resume non-urgent services and primary care appointments, health care providers are prepared to respond to a potential future wave of COVID-19 inpatients, he said. "COVID is still here, but we now have lived with this for over two months," Borgerding said. "We’ve learned quite a bit." To date, Wisconsin hospitals have not experienced extreme capacity surges during the pandemic, which public health leaders largely credit to the effectiveness of social distancing measures. The state Supreme Court’s decision last week to overturn Gov. Tony Evers’ “Safer at Home” order has resulted in a patchwork of stay-at-home orders, with local governments enacting their own guidelines for reopening businesses. Prior to the court's decision, health care leaders said they expected to see a rise in COVID-19 cases as the state reopens business and resumes normal activity. “Whatever the situation, our hospitals are adapting; they’re nimble,” Borgerding said. “They don’t always control the public policy environment that they have to operate within, and this is an example of that … With or without 'Safer at Home,' this all remains a challenge, but I think it’s one that at least today our members feel confident, now two months into this experience, that they can manage. But we'll see what the future holds.” The rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations has remained largely steady over the past month, at about 350 patients, he noted. As of Monday morning, there were 379 COVID-19 inpatients in the state, up from 356 COVID-19 on Friday. Hospital leaders have said the region saw its peak of COVID-19 hospitalizations in mid-April. Moving forward, Borgerding said, WHA will continue to monitor the number of COVID-19 inpatients as a key indicator of the stress the coronavirus is putting on hospitals’ capacity. WHA last week launched a public service announcement campaign, in partnership with the Wisconsin Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians, urging patients to return to hospitals and clinics for routine and urgent care. “I believe the concern about utilizing the health care system may be driven by imagery on TV or driven by, in general, the 'Safer at Home' order or perceptions that the health care system was overrun with COVID-infected people, while at same time you could go to Home Depot, Menards or the grocery store,” he said. “There’s been almost a stigma attached to health care as a result of this.” The WHA campaign is aimed at allaying those fears by getting the message out that hospitals and clinics are “the safest, cleanest places anyone can visit," Borgerding said. “It’s important to be confident and be assured that it is safe and it’s clean and our clinics and our hospitals are experts, professionals at mitigating infection,” he said. While the state’s personal protective equipment supplies have stabilized in recent weeks, health care leaders continue to closely monitor the situation as they resume services. New safety protocols at health care facilities will require more face masks, more gowns and more physical separations, Borgerding said. “I would not say we’re out of the woods on PPE,” he said. “I think it will continue to be a challenge. But our members are adept at managing these situations.” Meanwhile, the cancellation and postponement of procedures over the past two months has had a “historic” impact on health care utilization statewide, and the hit to health systems’ financials has been “staggering,” Borgerding said. “I’m talking billions of dollars in lost or foregone revenue that is necessary to keep the health care system operating and functional and financially sustainable and healthy,” he said. Advocate Aurora Health chief executive officer Jim Skogsbergh recently reported the system sustained a loss of about $300 million in April alone. Relief directed at Wisconsin health care providers from the federal CARES Act has covered only “a fraction” of their losses, Borgerding said. The formula used to allocate the first round of aid put Wisconsin at a disadvantage because of the state’s relatively cost-effective Medicare spending, he said. “The first wave of dollars that were distributed were based upon the cost of caring for Medicare patients,” he said. “... We are one of more efficient states when it comes to delivery of high quality Medicare care at a lost cost, so Wisconsin was penalized, in a way, for delivering high-quality at a low-cost care.” While postponing procedures was “the right thing to do,” Borgerding said, it will take a long time for the health care industry to recover from those losses. “It’s not like flipping a switch on and off,” he said. Get more news and insight in the April 27 issue of BizTimes Milwaukee. Subscribe to get updates in your inbox here.

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