Jefferson County has First Positive Case of COVID-19

Jefferson County has confirmed the first positive COVID-19 (Coronavirus) patient. The patient was tested at a facility outside of Jefferson County but is a resident of Jefferson County. The patient recently traveled domestically and is self-quarantined at home at this time and being monitored.

Fort HealthCare has been preparing for the potential spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) in our community. “We are prepared to handle the potential increase of patients while maintaining and providing ongoing care for non-Coronavirus patients.” Mike Wallace, President and CEO of Fort HealthCare “The spread of COVID-19 puts us on heightened alert to expand our processes to keep our community and employees safe.” We are working closely with the Jefferson County Health Department and under the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), as well as other healthcare partners to monitor, plan, and respond to COVID-19. Throughout the past few weeks, our team has been working diligently to ensure the safety of our patients, team, and the communities we serve.

The situation with COVID-19 continues to rapidly evolve. If you are experiencing a fever, cough or shortness of breath please contact your primary care provider in advance of visiting or you can do a virtual health visit at e+CARE at www.forthealthcare.com/e+care to screen for COVID-19.

As a reminder it is important to remember the best way to prevent illness is to avoid exposure to the virus. Clean your hands often, avoid close contact, cover coughs and sneezes, clean and disinfect and practice social distancing by staying home if at all possible.