The Appleton, Wisconsin Post-Crescent reports Fox Valley Health Care Workers Now Playing Out in Court.

The seven workers quit ThedaCare, applied for positions at Ascension, and received job offers.

The seven did not have contracts or obligations at ThedaCare nor did Ascension recruit those workers. 

Nonetheless, ThedaCare filed a lawsuit seeking to block the move. 

Outagamie County Circuit Court Judge Mark McGinnis granted ThedaCare's request and until at least Monday. 

In the complaint, lawyers for ThedaCare wrote that Ascension had "shockingly" chosen to "poach" the employees during a stressful time for health care. More COVID-19 patients are hospitalized in the Fox Valley now than at any other time during the pandemic, according to Wisconsin Hospital Association data, and ThedaCare has canceled non-emergency surgeries to make space. 

ThedaCare-Neenah is a Level II Trauma Center, part of which means they have specialists like interventional radiologists available regularly to treat patients. Ascension St. Elizabeth Hospital, a Level III Trauma Center, can provide initial support to trauma patients and is able to transfer them to ThedaCare-Neenah for more care, according to definitions from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.