WEST ALLIS — The Alternate Care Facility at State Fair Park now has 11 patients, according to an updatefrom the Department of Health Services Wednesday.
That is the highest number of patients the facility has cared for on a single day since it opened in West Allis on Oct. 14, up from four patients reported on Tuesday.
The ACF is meant to treat people infected with the coronavirus who are not severely ill but still require medical support. Patients there have been hospitalized for at least 48 hours.
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"By safely transferring patients to this facility after their traditional hospital stay, Wisconsin will be better able to maximize bed capacity for patients that require more significant levels of care while reducing strain on the state’s health systems during the COVID-19 pandemic," according to the DHS.
Patients need to be between the ages of 18 and 70. The patients most likely to come here are those who only need to be in the hospital a few more days with oxygen care.
“This is not just about if you need hospitalization for COVID. This about crowding out our hospitals for every other type of care that anyone of us could need at any day,” Julie Willems Van Dijk, deputy secretary for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, explained to TMJ4 News when the facility opened.
Patients will be brought to the ACF in ambulances and returned to their original hospitals the same way. They will not be charged for that service or their stay at the Alternate Care Facility. That will all be paid for through the CARES Act.
Learn more about the facility here.