A doctor speaks out on the shutdown

The opinions expressed are my own.

As many people in my community and followers of my social media accounts know, I am the cardiologist who was placed on leave by my employer after I attended a rally a week ago. The rally was held to send a message to our governor encouraging him to reconsider his extension of the Safer at Home order for another month past the original date of April 24th. The governor’s decree is currently being challenged in court by the Legislature.

There is much misinformation and speculation regarding my involvement in the event, why I attended the event, what I believe, what I believe should be done, and even my work schedule. The individuals spreading such misinformation have judged me despite knowing very little about me. These misguided attacks appear to be guided by political ideology rather than knowledge of the facts regarding the danger of COVID-19 in our area or the impact of the lockdown on our community’s healthcare services and local economy.

I have listed my main points below and a more in-depth discussion follows for those who may be interested.

1. I was in FULL agreement with the governor’s first Safer at Home order scheduled to end on April 24th, and I still believe it was an appropriate action. During this period we prepared for the impact of COVID and, as time progressed, we were able to assess how prevalent it was in our community of North Central Wisconsin.
2. Fortunately, we have not seen nearly as many COVID cases as we had expected and were prepared to treat. As of today, there have been only 17 confirmed cases of COVID in Marathon County and only one mortality since the beginning of the pandemic. Those numbers have not changed for several days.
3. According to John Hopkins daily tracking data, in nearby counties--including Price, Taylor, Langlade, Lincoln, and Oneida--only a single instance of COVID has been recorded. Thus, large areas of Wisconsin have had minimal contact with COVID.
4. The forced lockdown has caused severe adverse health consequences locally, as it has prevented people from getting the care they need. This is likely to get worse as many health care organizations are facing financial collapse.
5. The forced lockdown has caused severe economic damage, and economists are already projecting that unemployment rates will be higher than in the Great Depression. If we don’t allow portions of the country to open, I fear that many jobs will be lost forever as businesses are forced to close.
6. There are many areas throughout the country where COVID is very active, and continued aggressive mitigation efforts in those areas are appropriate and necessary.
7. There are areas in the country like North Central Wisconsin where the prevalence of COVID is very low.
8. We need to start assessing our response to COVID on a regional basis. We should consider population density, the prevalence of the virus, capabilities of the health care system to treat COVID, and the ability of local businesses to take reasonable precautions to protect their employees and patrons.
9. Lower-risk areas and businesses need to make plans to open the economy soon. Businesses and health care providers need to cooperate in this endeavor and be prepared to adjust their responses according to close monitoring of viral activity in their area.
10. I am deeply disappointed that this has become a political issue. The virus doesn’t care what party you may favor. The politicization of this has greatly impeded our ability to address the pandemic.
11. The consensus medical view is that this virus is here to stay. In other words, this virus cannot be defeated simply by staying inside for a couple of months. The world will likely see periodic outbreaks, and we need to accept that and be prepared to deal with COVID long term. Like it or not, this virus is here to stay, and we need to be prepared for this reality.
12. I placed no patient in any more jeopardy from the virus by attending the rally than that encountered in my daily living, for reasons outlined further below.
13. Finally, despite the way it was perceived throughout the country, I was not fired by my employer for attending the rally. I was placed on an unpaid, one-week leave for violating the hospital’s policy, and I voluntarily extended my time off by another week by taking vacation time. During this time, I have been assessing my future plans, together with my wife and family.

For those interested in more details, let me first give you a bit of background about myself. I am a research cardiologist and author of over 100 medical papers and research studies. I have provided cardiovascular care to patients in North Central Wisconsin and portions of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for almost 33 years. When I first began practicing cardiology in North Central Wisconsin, the program was in its infancy and was unrecognized. With the hard work of several talented medical professionals, we have succeeded in building a program in which IBM Watson Health awarded a top-50 ranking in the entire country a remarkable 13 times during my tenure.

I began studying the COVID virus after seeing the initial reports coming out of China, and I have read the published studies in various medical journals regarding COVID. I recognized how serious and dangerous it could be if not successfully contained early. When COVID began spreading across the United States, I helped craft guidelines to minimize the risk of spread at my local church.

I saw on Facebook that many people had questions about COVID or were simply interested in learning more. I began writing posts on Facebook to explain how infection occurs and how it spreads. I wrote posts about virus mutations and the difficulty these mutations cause for finding a vaccination and developing natural immunity. I published several firsthand accounts of what we were doing locally to prepare for COVID patients. Our hospital was very well-prepared and much was done ensure the safety of its staff. I have often said that I felt I was safer from catching the virus in our hospital than virtually everywhere I went.

As time went by, however, the danger of COVID in our area was much less than we had expected. Indeed, this was true of most of the areas I provided cardiovascular care. Nevertheless, I was absolutely behind the governor’s first Safer at Home order. This initial Safer at Home order allowed us time to prepare for the expected surge. The surge of COVID infections never materialized in our area.

The effect of the first Safer at Home on our local economy and our local health care system has been devastating. I saw firsthand how this order was adversely impacting people with medical needs. The hospital system shut down 16 primary care clinics. Think of that, 16 CLINICS COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN. More recently the system announced numerous additional furloughs and cut work hours for nurses and support staff. All this to hopefully avoid the total financial collapse of our local health care system. This is not isolated to our region. These events are happening all over the country. Millions of healthcare workers are effected.

Meanwhile, health care within our community has suffered. The shutdown of clinics has reduced access to healthcare. People are afraid to come into our office or the emergency room. Cancers are not being detected or operated on, dental care is not being provided, severe orthopedic issues are not being addressed, and some specialties--such as ENT, dermatology, chiropractic care, and some surgical specialties--are being decimated. It became increasingly clear that the health care system was near collapse. This was not due to the virus overwhelming the system, but due to a government-imposed restriction on “nonessential” services. This restriction has caused horrific damage to patient care. I certainly felt, as did many others within our community, that the drastic reduction in health care was worse than the minimal effect we were seeing from the virus. Interestingly, publications in prestigious medical journals are now attesting to this fact. A poor economy has morbidity and lethality too.

The loss of millions of jobs caused by the shutdown was hard to comprehend. I felt I needed to observe the economic side on a more personal level in our community. So, I attended the rally. The timing of the event worked out reasonably well with my schedule, as I wasn’t scheduled to be in the hospital for over two weeks. The vast majority of my clinic patient encounters for the next couple of weeks were already set to be done by phone or video conferencing. A few non-urgent, office-visit patients could be rescheduled if necessary. I went to the rally as an observer and stayed in the back to maintain social distancing. Overall, I felt my minimal exposure risk was no more than what I experienced on my trips to the grocery store or essential errands.

By attending the rally, I was able to gain a greater understanding of the devastating effects the Safer at Home order was having on businesses in our community. The lockdown doesn’t discriminate by political party, social status, or gender. The misery is shared by all, and it will get worse. I heard small business owners and farmers tell their gut-wrenching stories. Several of the stories I heard were told through tears and a tone of utter despair. Many felt their businesses and farms were near collapse and that an additional month would seal their doom. Dairy farmers were dumping milk and some grain farmers were not harvesting their crops due to the collapse of their markets. The bailout money was not even close to what they needed to survive. And they didn’t want to survive on government handouts, assuming these were even available; they wanted to work. It was hard for these individuals to accept that they were deemed non-essential when it was their only means of survival.

After this rally, I joined a small group of people who prayed the Rosary with our priest for the health of those fighting the virus, those infected by the virus, our country, and the many businesses devastated by the lockdown. Though it started small, it rapidly grew in size as more and more joined to pray.

On Monday morning, my first day at work after the rally, I immediately notified my employer that I had attended the event. Although all the patients on my schedule were phone calls or video visits, I agreed to leave the office and for the rest of the week as part of established policy. I later added a vacation week to follow as I contemplate my future with my wife and family. Neither of the two administrators with whom I met felt I posed a risk of infecting others.

Upon returning home, I learned of some of the comments made on social media about me and the orchestrated slander of my name and reputation. These comments had my wife and family in emotional turmoil and my wife, in particular, in tears numerous times. I was accused of taking action that would cause the death of children. I was accused of showing a total disregard for my patients’ health. These words and accusations do not in any way reflect my 33 years of dedicated service to my patients and my community. I was called a conspirator and an anti-science Trumptser. But most disturbing was the vulgarity involved and a clear sense of an orchestrated political hit job. There were words said using language that I haven’t heard since high school. They vandalized my home by scattering feces on the front steps prompting me to file a police report. They also mocked Christianity. Nobody should have to put up with this evil. No human has the right to inflict this pain on others.

America’s Constitution enshrines the right to assemble peacefully and voice opinions. Blood from our forefathers has paid for this right countless times. These assemblies have contributed to the ending of Slavery and the Vietnam War. They were a major factor in the Civil Rights Movement. We shouldn’t be so willing to give up these rights when we feel the government is on the wrong course.

To all of you who have supported me through this, I thank you deeply. I am truly blessed by this outpouring of support. To those who disagreed with my action but were respectful in their comments, God bless you as well. I feel an honest discussion is what’s needed on this subject. To those who showed an unsubstantiated vile toward me and my religion, I feel sad for you, and I pray that you find peace.