'Clearly a crisis': Wisconsin Hospital Association calls on state leaders for resources and COVID legislation

MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The president and CEO of the Wisconsin Hospital Association wrote a letter to Governor Evers and the state's legislative leaders Thursday, Nov. 19, calling for resources from state COVID legislation.

"With few tools available right now to curb spread other than increasingly urgent public appeals, our COVID numbers are growing rapidly and predict, quite accurately so far, a health care crisis in Wisconsin that without significant, swift, and unified action will become a catastrophe," Eric Borgerding wrote. 

He asked state leaders to take actions to slow the spread of COVID-19, address the state's urgent health care workforce shortage, provide critically needed financial and human resources to the state's hospitals, create additional alternate care facility capacity, and streamline Medicaid regulations that can pose a barrier to care. 

"The state of COVID-19 in Wisconsin -- it’s clearly a crisis, and it’s moving even worse," he told CBS 58. 

Jamie Lucas, the executive director for the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals says it is "brutal" right now for health care workers and says health care administrators need to do more for those working, like paid quarantine relief. 

"There’s an incredible mental strain right now. Health care workers, nurses on the front line are at their wits end. They’ve been pushed to the breaking point for the last 8 months. They’ve been showing up to work every single day and living with incredible uncertainty and fear and it’s beginning to take a toll. We need to provide relief now, because it’s long overdue."