Surge facility will begin accepting COVID-19 patients next week

Gov. Tony Evers said Wednesday the state’s COVID-19 surge facility in West Allis will begin accepting patients next week.

The 530-bed facility will serve patients who need help, but don’t require hospitalization. Its goal is to transition patients who are less ill out of hospitals, reserving beds for those needing more intensive care.

“We hoped this day wouldn’t come, but unfortunately, Wisconsin is in a much different, more dire place today and our healthcare systems are beginning to become overwhelmed by the surge of COVID-19 cases,” Evers said in a statement. “This alternative care facility will take some of the pressure off our healthcare facilities while expanding the continuum of care for folks who have COVID-19.”

Evers said he’s opening the facility at the request of health systems that are seeing more pressure due to record surges in COVID-19 hospitalizations.

The Army Corps of Engineers built out the facility in April, with recruitment for staff starting around then.

Funding for the facility will come from $445 million in federal money set aside by Evers earlier this year for an anticipated surge.

Plans for a similar facility at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison were put on hold in April. Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Andrea Palm told reporters Tuesday they’re “open and happy to have conversations” about moving forward on that facility should cases rise in Dane County to the point it might be needed.

“At this point, that’s not where we are,” Palm said. “We want to make sure we use every tool that we can to protect the people of this state, and so we’ll have those conversations as necessary and do what we need to do to make sure that our hospitals have the backup that they need.”