COVID-19 Update - Tuesday, May 5th

In order to support your families being able to take a deep breath, turn away from constant news updates, and create a new temporary normal, my office will continue sending a daily update on the COVID-19 public health emergency and will post online on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

It is my hope that one reliable update each day will allow you to take a deep breath, oversee all that is happening in your own life and home, and have a reliable source of news you can count on to be up to date and accurate. As always, previous updates are on our website and linked beneath the graphic below.

My greatest concerns right now are your lives and livelihoods. We are working hard to keep you and your loved ones safe, and to fight for our small businesses in an unprecedented crisis.

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Past email updates can be found HERE

COVID-19 Hospital Data

Today, the Department of Health Services along with the State Emergency Operations Center launched hospital gating criteria as part of the Badger Bounce Back Plan. The criteria, developed with input from the Wisconsin Hospital Association and the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative, sets hospital metrics to be able to move into Phase 1 of the Badger Bounce Back Plan.

Hospital gating criteria address both patient care and hospital staff health. The metrics set the following goals:

95% of hospitals affirm that they can treat all patients without crisis care.
95% of all hospitals affirm that they have arranged for testing for all symptomatic clinical staff treating patients at the hospital per CDC guidelines.
Downward trend of COVID-19 cases among health care workers calculated weekly.

Key to these metrics is the definition of “crisis care,” which is characterized by the Institute of Medicine as "extreme operating conditions.” To determine whether or not a hospital is operating with or without “crisis care,” the following questions will be monitored daily:

Is the facility damaged/unsafe, or are non-patient care areas are being used by the facility for patient care?
Are trained staff unavailable or unable to adequately care for the volume of patients even with extension techniques?
Are critical supplies lacking, resulting in reallocation of life-sustaining resources and/or other extreme operating conditions?

An affirmative answer to all three of these questions for three or more consecutive days will indicate that a hospital is operating under that provision of crisis care.

The metrics concerning testing of hospital staff will be monitored weekly by affirming the following statement:

For the past week, the hospital has arranged for testing all symptomatic clinical staff treating patients at the hospital, per CDC guidelines.

Data from the Wisconsin Electronic Disease Surveillance System (WEDSS) will be used to determine the weekly trend of COVID-19 cases among health care workers.

Data to measure gating criteria are still being collected and will be available on Friday, May 8th on the DHS website HERE.

Online Drivers License Renewal & Teen Road Test Waiver

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) today announced two pilot programs to safely address the backlog of drivers license renewals & road tests during the COVID-19 pandemic:

Eligible persons with a Wisconsin driver license will be able to renew it online
Individuals under age 18, who successfully complete their required training and have the endorsement of a parent or guardian will be able to get their probationary driver license without completing a road test

More information on both of these programs can be found on the DOT website HERE.

DHS Needs Contact Tracers

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), Division of Public Health (DPH) is recruiting a large team of Contact Tracers to assist in tracking and limiting the spread of COVID-19 in the State of Wisconsin.

To apply, visit the job posting HERE.

MCW COVID-19 Town Hall

The Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) hosted the next in its series of weekly virtual community town halls yesterday, Monday, May 4, to talk about the COVID-19, staying safe and healthy, and to answer questions. This week the panel shared information about COVID-19 testing.

The host this week was Cory L. Nettles, MCW Board Chairman, Founder and Managing Director of Generation Growth Capital, Inc.

Featured panelists:

Leonard E. Egede, MD, MS, Professor of Medicine & Eminent Scholar, Chief, Division of General Internal Medicine and Director, Center for Advancing Population Science (CAPS), MCW
Nathan Lamberton, PharmD, BCPS, Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, MCW and Primary Care Clinical Pharmacist, Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s Family Health Center, Pharmacy Director, Saturday Clinic for the Uninsured
Joyce L. Sanchez, MD, FACP, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, MCW
Heather A. Paradis, MD, MPH, Deputy Commissioner of Medical Services, Chief Medical Officer, City of Milwaukee Health Department

A recorded version of the town hall will be uploaded to the MCW YouTube channel for viewing HERE.

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