Higher demand in Eau Claire emergency services following hospital closures
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX) – Ripple effects from the closure of HSHS and Prevea Services are still being felt in the Chippewa Valley. Officials tell us the number of calls remain steady since before the closure.
EMS providers in both Chippewa Falls and Eau Claire say there haven’t been any major concerns or complications in their specific services. Now that being said, those call numbers and the demand for services, are now the same with two less hospitals.
Jon Schultz is the Deputy Chief with Eau Claire Fire Rescue. He says before the hospital closures, they had around 200-250 transports to Mayo Clinic in Eau Claire and around 75 to 100 to Marshfield Medical Center-Eau Claire. This past month, Schultz says there were more than 400 transports to Mayo and more than 150 to Marshfield, “We need another hospital. We really do. We’re just too big. There’s too many patients in the area. We’ve got more patients coming in. There’s more sick people.”
We reached out to Mayo and Marshfield Clinic Health Systems to talk about their emergency departments. They weren’t available for an interview but Mayo sent a statement saying there are more people seeking care. Adding, quote, “We have optimized our space, increased staffing, introduced virtual care options and streamlined processes so we can safely care for more patients.”
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