Becker's Hospital Review

100 CMO / CARE DELIVERY 'We hoped this day wouldn't come': Wisconsin to open field hospital amid COVID-19 surge By Alia Paavola A field hospital near Milwaukee will begin accepting COVID-19 pa- tients in mid-October, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said Oct. 7. The activation of the alternate care facil- ity comes as a surge in COVID-19 cas- es threatens to overwhelm hospitals in Wisconsin. As of Oct. 6, there were 853 COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state, an increase of 71 hospitalizations from the day before, according to the governor. Hospital leaders in the Wisconsin cit- ies of Green Bay, Appleton, Neenah and Wausau in late September and October reported critical staffing shortages, inten- sive care unit capacity issues and the need to transfer patients. "We hoped this day wouldn't come, but un- fortunately, Wisconsin is in a much differ- ent, more dire place today, and our health- care systems are beginning to become overwhelmed by the surge of COVID-19 cases," Mr. Evers said Oct. 7. "This alter- native care facility will take some of the pressure off our healthcare facilities while expanding the continuum of care for folks who have COVID-19." The alternate care facility is in the Wis- consin State Fair Park in the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis. At the time of pub- lication, the field hospital was slated to open Oct. 14. This alternative care facility will not ac- cept walk-in patients, according to a state- ment from the governor. Instead, it will coordinate with health sys- tems across the state to admit COVID-19 patients who still need care but are not se- riously ill. n This simple change could cut surgical infection risk in half By Mackenzie Bean S witching the type of antiseptic used during a proce- dure may significantly reduce surgical infection risk, according to a study published in Annals of Surgery. Researchers from the University of Leeds in England and the University of Bern in Switzerland reviewed 17 exist- ing studies to assess the efficacy of five antiseptics used in 14,593 surgeries. The original studies were conduct- ed in North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia and neighboring islands, and included a broad range of surgeries on adults. Researchers found alcoholic chlorhexidine gluconate cut the risk of surgical infection in half for "clean" surger- ies compared to the more commonly used antiseptic, povidone-iodine. Clean surgeries are defined as those outside the respiratory, urogenital and digestive system in which there are no signs of inflammation or infection and sterile technique is maintained the whole time. "Even though the risk of infection in these types of sur- gery is low (about 3 percent), anything we can change to reduce this risk is very important," lead author Dr. Ry- ckie Wade, a clinical research fellow at Leeds' School of Medicine, said in a news release. "Our findings suggest that the number of infections may be halved if surgeons used a different skin cleaning agent before surgery." n Pediatricians often dismiss families over vaccine refusals, JAMA survey finds By Mackenzie Bean A bout half of pediatricians say their office had a dismissal policy for families who refused routine vaccinations, a study published in JAMA Network Open found. Researchers surveyed 303 pediatricians nationwide between April and July 2019 on their current practices, experiences and policies regarding families who refused or asked to post- pone routine vaccinations. Four findings: 1. Fifty-one percent of pediatricians said their office had a policy to turn away families if they refused routine childhood vaccinations. 2. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said they often or al- ways followed through with the dismissal. 3. Pediatricians dismissed families for refusing a vaccine (37 percent) more often than for spreading them out (6 percent). 4. Among respondents who reported dismissing families for refusing vaccines, 18 percent said parents often or always changed their mind and agreed to vaccinate their child after being informed of the office policy. n

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