Evers visits Eau Claire to discuss HSHS and Prevea closures; Van Orden sends a letter urging use of government funding

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX) – Today (2/5/24) Governor Tony Evers hosted a discussion with other state and local leaders about what needs to be done to help those impacted by the HSHS and Prevea closures. First News at Nine’s Eleanor Bland was also at that discussion and shared what they are doing to help.

Community leaders and business owners were brought together by Governor Evers to look for solutions to the healthcare shutdowns.

Evers opened the conversation by saying the closure of HSHS and Prevea was handled badly, “I am incredibly disappointed as governor because of how this happened and how it was handled, frankly, is wrong. Employers did nothing to give their employees any warning and they did nothing to give my administration any warning.”

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, or DWD, spoke on wanting to help those who lost their jobs during these closures. Wisconsin DWD Secretary, Amy Pechacek, says, “We want to do everything we can to help keep this workforce connected, moving forward and make those connections with current opportunities.”

The over 1,300 jobs lost was a central focus of the meeting, and Rapid Response is one tool that DWD is currently working on using. Pechacek explains, “’Rapid Response’ is the term that we use to describe the coordinated efforts between the local workforce boards and the state of Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. And those conversations happened the moment we heard that there were going to be displaced workers here. And so, what we’ve been doing is getting information about the occupations and types of workers that are going to be displaced.”

Evers believes the hospitals and clinics could have closed because of Wisconsin not having Medicaid expansion, “Medicaid expansion does several things, but it brings in additional federal resources that could have been used to possibly save HHS from going belly up here. if we want the best we can get. We absolutely have to expand Medicaid that will give opportunities to provide more money to hospitals.”

In Eau Claire, Eleanor Bland, First News at Nine.

The DWD and the West Central Workforce Development Board will be hosting community job fairs in Eau Claire.

Congressman Derrick Van Orden is urging Governor Evers to help him get state and Federal Funding to assist with the hospital closures in Western Wisconsin. In a letter to the Governor, van Orden says, “Rural communities, like those in the Third Congressional District are continuously left on the sidelines when it comes to accessible health care.”

Van Orden says he wants to keep all options on the table and is asking the Governor to request all available resources, state and federal, to help with the situation.

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