IRON MOUNTAIN — Dickinson County Healthcare System is coping with a local surge in COVID-19 infections as it nears completion of a merger agreement with Marshfield Clinic Health System.
Chuck Nelson, DCH president and CEO, said Feb. 1 is the goal for closing the Marshfield affiliation contract.
“That still seems to be on track with everything we’re doing,” he said during a hospital board meeting Tuesday. “Things are going well.”
Once the deal closes, facility operations will be turned over to Marshfield with input and oversight from a local advisory board. The Dickinson County Board approved the arrangement during a joint meeting with the hospital board Dec. 6.
Marshfield plans a $26 million capital investment over the next five years at Iron Mountain, including construction of a regional cancer care center.
Three COVID-19 patients are hospitalized at DCH, which is fewer than what was experienced earlier this month, said Sue Hadley, vice president of clinical services and population health.
COVID hospitalizations may be down but there is a spike in cases, with a positivity rate of 37% among people tested in recent days. It’s presumed most are infected with the omicron variant, which has somewhat milder symptoms compared to the first virus wave and the second wave dominated by the delta variant.
While DCH has been able to handle its caseload overall, there’s a problem at tertiary hospitals where patients may need a higher level of specialized care. “We really watch that closely,” Hadley said.
Medical and surgical units are at peak capacity at more than 60% of Wisconsin hospitals, according to data from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
DCH is a leader in providing monoclonal antibody treatment for patients at risk for serious COVID-19, but there’s no guarantee that will continue indefinitely, Hadley told the board.
“That’s something we may see as a scarce resource,” she said. “Antibody supplies are under pressure.”
DCH’s planned affiliation agreement with Marshfield was announced Oct. 12. The Wisconsin-based provider has committed to retaining core services and medical practices at Dickinson for at least 10 years.
Marshfield, a large nonprofit with more than 10,000 employees, also is expected to focus on expanding local outpatient surgeries as well as pediatric, primary and emergency care.
A remaining piece in the deal is federal input on the status of a $16.9 million Rural Development loan DCH received through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. DCH had closed on the federal borrowing just a week before the Marshfield plan was made public.
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January 21, 2022 at 03:03PM
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