Gov. Evers visits Western Tech as part of statewide tour promoting health care jobs in Wisconsin

Creating more jobs for healthcare workers in Wisconsin is a top priority right now for Governor Tony Evers. He’s been touring the state this week, checking out medical training programs.

On Wednesday, Evers was given a tour of the Western Technical College health education facilities in La Crosse. The governor says Wisconsin has to do something to help communities such as Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls, where hospitals will close later this year.

“You can’t let this all happen,” Evers told reporters after seeing classrooms and labs at the Kumm Building on the Western campus, including some lifelike mannequins used by health care students. “The good news is, the thousand people that are gonna be laid off, they’re gonna find jobs.”

Evers has just created a task force on healthcare jobs, to be led by Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, which will study ways to increase employment and the quality of care at Wisconsin hospitals. The governor says a declining population base in the state poses a challenge to filling healthcare jobs.

“How can we get more people into the system, if we’re starting with pretty much zero growth or almost zero growth?” said Evers. “That’s something that they’re gonna have to work on. I don’t have any answers, but we need to do whatever we can.”