Public Health

As a long-term care facility, child care provider, or school, your help is essential to aid public health officials in preventing the spread of communicable diseases in our community.

Diseases and conditions that are reportable are considered to have significant public health impact and any confirmed or suspect cases must be reported promptly. Public health provides guidance, education, follow up, and surveillance for state reportable diseases and conditions as outlined in Wisconsin state statute or by the state health department:

General reporting requirements (WI Chapter 252.05)

Specific reporting requirements (WI Chapter DHS 145)

COVID reporting requirements (Wisconsin Department of Health Services)

Any Health Care Provider or  School is required to report reportable diseases and conditions. See this printable list of Category I and Category II diseases and conditions from the WI Department of Health Services.

Per licensing requirements, licensed child care facilities are also required to report these same communicable diseases and conditions.

Schools and child care facilities also hold an important role in preventing the spread of communicable disease through the reporting of suspected outbreaks to public health officials. Settings where people gather in large groups, such as schools and child care, present an opportunity for contagious infections to quickly spread from one person to another.

In Wisconsin, confirmed or suspected outbreaks of any disease in health care facilities, including long-term care facilities (LTCFs), must be reported immediately. This reporting requirement may be fulfilled by calling 262-636-9108.

Acute Respiratory Illness Outbreak Information

A suspected respiratory disease outbreak in LTCFs and other health care settings is defined as three or more residents and/or staff from the same unit with illness onsets within 72 hours of each other and who have pneumonia, acute respiratory illness, or laboratory-confirmed viral or bacterial infection (including influenza and COVID-19). For non-LTCF health care settings, only healthcare-associated cases should be counted.

ARI is an illness characterized by any two of the following signs and symptoms that are new or worsening from the resident’s normal state:

• Fever (temperature two degrees above a resident’s established baseline)
• Cough (productive or nonproductive)
• Runny nose or nasal congestion
• Sore throat
• Muscle aches
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Low oxygen saturation in the blood (normal levels are between 95 and 100%, but may vary for people with certain medical conditions)

Guidance and reporting information:

Facilities required to report Acute Respiratory Illness outbreaks should do so by calling 262-636-9108. Messages will be returned by public health staff as quickly as possible to gather additional information and provide guidance.

Reporting, Prevention and Control of Acute Respiratory Illness Outbreaks in Long-Term Care Facilities

Outbreak Line Lists:

LTCFs are strongly encouraged to maintain and update a line list during an Acute Respiratory Illness or COVID-19 outbreak to organize case information. While LTCFs are not required to report these line lists to their local health department, the Department of Health Services recommends that facilities continue to share them as part of shared outbreak response.

We work with health care providers and infection prevention staff to reduce the risk of communicable disease transmission.

Infection prevention and control involves practices and measures to prevent the spread of communicable diseases in all healthcare settings and the community. This includes hand hygiene, use of personal protective equipment, isolation precautions, environmental cleaning and disinfection, respiratory hygiene/cough etiquette, waste management and other practices to help reduce the transmission of infectious diseases.

See below for additional resources regarding infection prevention and control practices: