By JULIE GRACE | December 7, 2020

Since the start of the pandemic, Wisconsin has made it much easier for out-of-state health care professionals to practice and serve patients in the Badger State. Obtaining an occupational license is typically a time-consuming, costly and burdensome process, but all of that has changed in the past few months — at least temporarily.

Through legislation and executive orders, the state has allowed health care providers who are licensed and in good standing in another state to receive a temporary Wisconsin license during the COVID-19 crisis.

According to the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS), the state’s licensing agency, Wisconsin received 1,177 total applications from health care professionals looking to practice here between April 1 and Oct. 31. The agency granted 937 of those.

Dr. Marni Feuerman, a licensed clinical social worker from Florida, was one of them.

Feuerman often receives requests from people across the country seeking her counseling services but cannot provide them services if she’s not licensed in the patient’s state of residence, she says. But now that states, including Wisconsin, are making it easier to obtain a license, she has taken advantage of the opportunity to provide virtual services to patients across the country.

“When someone reached out to me from Wisconsin, I said, ‘Well, I can apply to the Department (of Safety and Professional Services) and see how fast they can move through the application,’ ” Feuerman says.

She heard back from DSPS within a week or so and has worked with the individual ever since.

“I was impressed with how efficient and easy the process was, and I hope this is the beginning of finding a way to loosen these restrictions if someone has a valid license in another state and there’s a need elsewhere,” she says.