It’s been several weeks since Sherman Martin, 70, collapsed in his home on Madison’s north side after testing positive for Covid-19. His family called 911; when he arrived at St. Mary’s Hospital, his oxygen was dangerously low.
“He was working pretty hard to breathe,” his attending emergency room physician Dr. Kyle Martin recalled. “He was also quite dehydrated, and that caused some kidney injury.”
Martin had spent the pandemic staying as safe as possible while working delivering newspapers or in food delivery and catering at Hyvee. Retired with ten children–eight adopted–he and his wife both tested positive for COVID-19. She was able to recover at home; after a few days, Martin found himself hospitalized. He told his doctors: Do whatever you have to do.
“I’m not ready to leave yet, I’ve got too many things to do,” he said with a chuckle. First on the list–travel.
Indomitable and on the mend after just a few days at St. Mary’s, Dr. Martin said he was a perfect fit for recovering at the Alternative Care Facility at the state fair grounds, built in April for overflow patients who need lower-level hospitalized care. But the conversation that usually happens when presenting the field hospital option to recovering patients is fraught with concerns about the facility’s level of care, distance, and overall unknowns. Just four patients in total from St. Mary’s Hospital have made the trip; Sherman was the first.
“He was enthusiastic,” Dr. Martin noted. “I think he was excited to explore something new and different.”
Sherman spent about five days at St. Mary’s, before transferring to the field hospital for another five days to continue recovery.
“I don’t think I could ever thank them enough,” he said. “How wonderful everybody was, from the ambulance crew to the firetruck crew to St. Mary’s…and people down in Milwaukee; how they took care of me, what they did for me.”
Because now–he’s got the chance to keep travelling.
State guidelines for admitting patients relaxed
According to data updated every Friday by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, the ACF has treated 156 patients as of December 11. On December 15, just five patients were currently in the facility, down from six the previous day.
Doctors initially said that tight restrictions around when patients could be admitted was one of several roadblocks to utilizing the facility, in addition to reluctance from patients themselves. Since then, the state’s Department of Administration says there have been a number of adjustments to admittance, including:
- Expanding the daily window of time when patients could be transferred
- Expanding the daily window of time when transfer requests could be made
- Same-day transfers were implemented (previously next-day transfers)
- Eliminated of upper age-cap for patients, but patients must still be at least 18 years old and able to largely care for their basic daily needs themselves
“There continue to be on-going conversations between health-systems and ACF leaders regarding the streamlining of operational processes,” a spokesperson with the DOA noted.
The facility is funded through a $445 million surge reserve fund set aside by the governor to help cover the costs of response to surging COVID-19 cases in health care systems and the community. The reserve fund also covers the state’s coronavirus testing, and is funded by the federal CARES Act which is set to cover COVID-19-related activities through the end of the year.
Covid-19 related hospitalizations in Wisconsin have been on a slight decline since they reached an all-time high in mid-November, but still remain far higher than at any point before October according to data provided by the Wisconsin Hospital Association.
“Definitely in the last month we’ve seen a huge surge,” Dr. Martin noted of the ER at St. Mary’s. “Although I am hoping…we’re starting to level off.”
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