While the rest of America focuses on election drama, life for those inside a Wisconsin COVID ward is 'all-consuming' jsonline.com/story/news/202… via @majohnso
@majohnso An observer might find the scene at University Hospital in Madison almost reassuring. But this is a vision of just how serious the state's COVID-19 surge has grown these last few weeks.
@majohnso The patients are calm because they are terribly sick and must be deeply sedated. The sedation stops their arms from flailing in fear and confusion, and possibly disconnecting their ventilators.
But there's another reason.
@majohnso So deprived of oxygen are their bodies that they must be sedated to the point of paralysis. They cannot afford to consume even the modest amounts of oxygen needed to move an arm or a leg. They lie so still their faces show no emotion.
@majohnso Often doctors cannot tell if a patient feels anxious or afraid.
From time to time, the calm breaks. When a COVID patient drifts into crisis, red lights flash at their bedside. A loud bell sounds, the ventilator alarm.
@majohnso In recent weeks, the number of such severely ill patients has grown, forcing the COVID ward to expand.
A week ago, a general care neurosurgery unit became a 12-bed COVID-19 unit.
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Department of Health Services chief medical officer Ryan Westergaard in briefing with @WiHealthNews says Wisconsin is approaching a "tipping point" when hospitals are not able to save everyone who becomes ill.
@WiHealthNews Westergaard says Wisconsin lost control of the outbreak over the summer.
He says a big issue has been predominantly asymptomatic people who aren't limiting interaction with other people.
@WiHealthNews Wisconsin Hospitals Association's Eric Borgerding says staffing in hospitals are "stressed."
"Not only are we seeing demand ... just almost going at a vertical pace, truly, but it's coming at a time when our capacity to treat that demand is becoming more and more diminished."
Mark Kaufman, chief medical officer for the Wisconsin Health Association, is giving WMC members an overview on how terrible the coronavirus pandemic is in Wisconsin.
Points of evidence: Graphs showing hospitalizations include curves that are nearly vertical.
Kaufman says many Wisconsin hospitals are at peak capacity and have activated "contingency plans."
"So, Wisconsin hospitals are struggling," Kaufman says.
In a release, @GovEvers says tonight's speech "will call for unity and working together in response to the COVID-19 pandemic."
@GovEvers Evers: "I am concerned about what our current trajectory means for Wisconsin healthcare workers, families, and our economy if we don’t get this virus under control."
@GovEvers "So, I want to be clear tonight: each day this virus goes unchecked is a setback for our economic recovery.
Our bars, restaurants, small businesses, families, and farmers will continue to suffer if we don’t take action right now."
White House officials are warning Wisconsin's leaders that more people will die unnecessarily if the state doesn't adopt a "more comprehensive" plan to combat the "unrelenting" rise in cases of coronavirus. jsonline.com/story/news/pol…
One model from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation shows between 5,000 and 6,900 lives could be lost to COVID-19 in Wisconsin by Jan. 1 if the virus spread doesn't slow down.
The model predicts the state could see more than 100 deaths per day beginning Dec. 13.
The White House Coronavirus Task Force, which monitors the state's outbreak, in its latest report is again urging state leaders to figure out a response that is more robust and unified than what's in place now.
Chris Olmstead, deputy director for Trump Victory in Wisconsin, on Thursday held a conference call with Trump staffers around Wisconsin and told them to find volunteers to call voters in Pennsylvania whose absentee ballots hadn’t been returned. jsonline.com/story/news/pol…
"Today and for the foreseeable number of days until they decide they are done counting, we are going to be chasing our absentee ballots over in Pennsylvania," Olmstead told his team, according to audio of the call obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Soon after that call, at 5:19 p.m. Thursday, a group called Kenosha for Trump blasted out an email headlined "Volunteers Urgently Needed."