Hiring more health care workers in Wisconsin is now a top priority for Gov. Tony Evers. He is touring the state this week to inspect medical training programs.
On Wednesday, Evers toured Western Technical College's health education facility in La Crosse. The governor says Wisconsin must do something to help communities like Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls, where hospitals will close later this year.
“We can't allow all of this to happen,” Evers told reporters after viewing classrooms and labs in the Kumu Building on Western Campus, including lifelike mannequins used by medical students. . “The good news is that thousands of people who will be laid off will find work.”
The city of Evers just launched a task force on health care jobs, led by Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, that will study ways to improve employment and quality of care at Wisconsin hospitals. The governor said the state's declining population base poses challenges in filling health care positions.
“If we start with almost zero growth, or near zero growth, how do we get more people into the system?” Evers said. “That's something they have to work on. There's no answer, but they have to do whatever they can.”
