Republicans demand answers on Wisconsin’s underreported nursing home deaths

(The Center Square) – There’s a growing push at the Wisconsin Capitol to get answers from Gov. Tony Evers’ administration about how the state’s Department of Health Services underreported nearly 1,000 coronavirus deaths in the state’s nursing homes.

Sen. Patrick Testin, R-Stevens Point, said Monday that he wants to know what else the Evers Administration has gotten wrong.

“It’s a huge problem that the Evers Administration has provided flawed information as the state has worked to respond to this health crisis,” Testin said.

DHS Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk last week blamed incomplete data for the need to “reclassify” the deaths.

“When case and death data were imputed into our disease surveillance system, it was common for some fields to be empty or boxes left unchecked due to the inability of the disease investigator to collect that particular information,” Willems Van Dijk told reporters.

Testin said that’s a poor excuse.

“Other states have managed to keep and report accurate, timely data, but a year into the pandemic, Gov. Evers’ DHS is still not there,” Testin added.

Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills on Monday called for a full audit of DHS’s coronavirus data collection and reporting.

The governor quickly tried to frame that request as purely political.

“If the Republicans want to weaponize the legislative audit bureau, no surprise there,” Evers told reporters.

Darling said the governor now appears to be on the opposite side of open and honest government.

“It’s sad, but unsurprising to see Gov. Evers views transparency as a weapon,” Darling said on Twitter.

Both Darling and Testin want answers going forward, not simply about what happened months ago.

Testin said there are questions about nearly 25% of Wisconsin’s remaining coronavirus related deaths as well.

“There are still nearly 1,700 deaths listed as occurring in an “unknown” setting and some of those may yet belong in the long-term care count,” Testing said.

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