Watertown (Wis.) Regional Medical Center is temporarily closing its urgent care so urgent care staff can assist in the emergency department, it said Sept. 20 in a Facebook post.
Because of "an increase in emergent needs in our community, our urgent care will temporarily be closed so our well-trained urgent care staff can assist in the emergency department," the post stated. "We will continue to reevaluate this temporary change so we can make sure we are providing our community with the level of care they need."
Watertown Regional is among hospitals and health systems that temporarily closed facilities and shifted staff during the latest COVID-19 pandemic wave.
As of Sept. 20, new daily COVID-19 hospitalization rates in Wisconsin had increased 8 percent over the last two weeks, according to data tracked by The New York Times.