MARSHFIELD, WI (WSAU) — A local health system is urging residents to continue taking steps to limit the spread of COVID-19 in Wisconsin.
Wednesday morning Marshfield Clinic Health System put out a press release regarding the recent rise in COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin. The release says they understand that wearing masks and resorting to remote work and learning isn’t ideal but that they are the actions most needed from the community to limit the spread of coronavirus.
Tammy Simon the Vice President of the Institute of Quality, Innovation and Patient Safety says as community exposure rises it also affects the health system adversely. “This truly affects the entire community. And when I say that, that includes our health system. We are not immune to some of the stressors. So we equally have our employees out in the community. So we have seen either employees quarantined or different situations that our workforce has been impacted. As well as we have seen an increased number of COVID positive patients entering our facilities.”
With health care organizations like Marshfield Clinic strained by increasing cases and quarantined workers, they’re struggling to take care of patients who need hospital care according to Simon. “Many times if these patients have comorbidities, that include obesity, heart disease, COPD, or chronic lung issues, these patients are sicker. And that is what we would see typically in our hospitals. Being able to care for a larger volume of these patients, this becomes challenging.”
To help hospital systems, Simon urges residents to continue to practice necessary steps to limit COVID spread like wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, washing hands frequently, and staying home if you feel sick. The release mentions people having “pandemic fatigue” but Simon says there are steps to combat that fatigue from the past 6 months.
“Holding each other responsible. So if we see friends, family, letting their guard down, reminding them of the importance. Maintaining activities and really trying to find those positive things in our life that we can do to maintain active. And equally, it doesn’t mean we can’t talk to our friends, use Zoom. Many of the safe practices because social interaction is very important for our mental health.
“That’s the other piece of this that I want to stress. Many of us have been going through this since March and April. It’s a long time. People have put on hold vacations, time with family that maybe live in another state. So just being creative in ways that we can be communicating with our loved ones, our family, and friends.”
Simon mentions that the fight against COVID-19 is a community fight as everyone is in the fight against coronavirus together. Marshfield Clinic Health System does have a 24-hour nurse line to support patients with their COVID calls, the line takes approximately 300 calls related to coronavirus a day.
