Foxconn Facility Could Help in Pandemic
New building isn’t manufacturing anything but could become emergency treatment center.
So Foxconn’s main Mt. Pleasant building is up; here’s an innovative plan for the nearly one-million-square-foot structure and the company’s “innovation centers” around the state — in Milwaukee, Green Bay, Eau Claire and Madison — that are idle or under utilized:
With the help of the Wisconsin National Guard, re-purpose those properties into the kind of temporary emergency COVID-19 treatment centers that New York City is opening.
The military knows how to do this. If our troops could quickly set up fast-response medical facilities in West Africa during the Ebola outbreak, they can do it here and take the pressure off established hospitals in Milwaukee, Chicago – – where McCormick Place is being turned into a hospital – – and elsewhere in the region which are going to be overrun with patients.
Two local businesses in SE Wisconsin have already shown the way. Let’s think even bigger.
The state should prioritize the completion of utility hookups, bring in local food preparation personnel and get some immediate benefit for the people from the millions in taxpayer dollars already invested in site acquisition, infrastructure and other services and in the process show the world that it’s Marshall Plan time in SE Wisconsin.
And marshal the resources and opportunities we might be overlooking.
And think of the goodwill it would engender for Foxconn in Wisconsin if the company made the offer and funded the transition.
Not to mention re-imaging the new I-94 lanes between Milwaukee and the Illinois state line from the death trap into a life line.
James Rowen, a former journalist and mayoral staffer in Milwaukee and Madison, writes a regular blog, The Political Environment.
More about the Coronavirus Pandemic
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- Wisconsin Anticipates First Shipment of Johnson & Johnson Vaccine - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Mar 1st, 2021
- Marquette University announces in-person plans for fall 2021 semester - Marquette University - Mar 1st, 2021
- Dane County Drops Most Fines Against Dance Studio - Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty - Mar 1st, 2021
- Back in the News: Uline Workers Suffer Higher COVID-19 Rates - Bruce Murphy - Mar 1st, 2021
- Groups Now Eligible for the COVID-19 Vaccine - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Mar 1st, 2021
- WI Daily: 464 New COVID-19 Cases - Urban Milwaukee - Feb 28th, 2021
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- HDA Statement on FDA Authorization of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine - Healthcare Distribution Alliance - Feb 27th, 2021
- Gallagher Statement on Pelosi’s Payout - U.S. Rep Mike Gallagher - Feb 27th, 2021
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More about the Foxconn Facility
- Murphy’s Law: The Foxconn Real Estate Show - Bruce Murphy - Feb 25th, 2021
- Murphy’s Law: Local Costs for Foxconn Cut By 2% - Bruce Murphy - Feb 8th, 2021
- Foxconn Sued for Breach of Contract - Corri Hess - Feb 4th, 2021
- Vos and Wanggaard Continue to Gaslight Public on Foxconn Development - A Better Mt. Pleasant - Feb 3rd, 2021
- Murphy’s Law: Robin Vos Will Solve Foxconn Fiasco - Bruce Murphy - Feb 2nd, 2021
- Murphy’s Law: 9 Reasons a New Foxconn Contract Is Unlikely - Bruce Murphy - Dec 21st, 2020
- Audit Says Foxconn Loophole Needs a Fix - Corri Hess - Dec 9th, 2020
- Back in the News: Residents Outraged by Foxconn Fiasco - Bruce Murphy - Dec 8th, 2020
- Back in the News: Foxconn Landing Google Contract? - Bruce Murphy - Nov 23rd, 2020
- Op Ed: Mistake? Foxconn Was a Whopper - John Torinus - Oct 30th, 2020
Read more about Foxconn Facility here