Hospitals throughout southeastern Wisconsin doubled as hotels as nurses and other staff opted to spend the night rather than risk traveling in one of the worst blizzards to hit the region. About 80 workers stayed at Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare-St. Francis. About 60 spent the night at Waukesha Memorial Hospital. More than two dozen bunked at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. Allowing needed staff to sleep in the empty beds found throughout a hospital, from empty rooms to surgical units, is one of the ways in which hospitals prepared for the blizzard that shut down the southern half of the state. The storm lived up to its billing. But the forecast gave hospitals time to prepare.
