Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative Planning for New Hospital

The Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative has announced it is making progress on the creation of a new independent community hospital.

According to a press release on Wednesday, the organization has taken significant next steps towards building an independent nonprofit community hospital in the region. Those steps include the creation of the organizational structure and developing an operational plan for the new hospital.

As of now, the new hospital will feature 60-70 beds with an emergency room. Officials from the Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative are also exploring the possibility of adding services like cancer care, cardiology, labor and deliver, surgery, radiology, lab, and behavioral health. The hospital is also expected to accept patients using Medicare or Medicaid.

The staff of the hospital will include over 125 independent physicians from OakLeaf Medical Network’s 27 clinics, allowing the hospital to hit the ground running without needing to bring new physicians in from outside the area.

While these important steps should give residents hope about the new hospital, there is still a long way to go before it actually exists. For instance, a location for it has yet to be chosen. Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative officials say they’re hoping to settle on a site by the end of August.

Still, other healthcare providers will be more than happy to see a new facility open eventually. Organizations like Marshfield Clinic Health Systems have reported a massive spike in patients, particularly in their emergency room and for labor and delivery services. Sharing that burden with another hospital will be beneficial for both the healthcare organizations that have tried to step up their services in the wake of the HSHS closures and the patients who are seeking care.