Western Wisconsin Health Foundation Gets Grant for Deliveries

The Western Wisconsin Health Foundation has received grant funding for increased delivery services with strong expected population growth.

According to organization officials, the grant funding is meant to cut down on disparities in birth centers and improve access to obstetrical care services. The foundation was awarded a $390,000 grant from the Roots & Wings Foundation to make delivery services easier to access for residents in St. Croix, Pierce and Dunn Counties.

The Western Wisconsin Health Foundation is expecting population growth of roughly 40% over the next 15 years. Despite the expectation of a growing population however, a number of healthcare organizations in the region have closed their doors in recent years. Rural providers in particular have struggled to keep up financially, leaving rural residents unable to easily access the healthcare they need.

Officials say Wisconsin has seen a 24% decline in the number of hospitals offering obstetric services over the last decade. Many of the lost services come from rural areas of the state, forcing patients to travel longer distances to seek care and adding to the overall patient burden of hospital systems in more densely populated areas.

Following the HSHS hospital closures in the Chippewa Valley earlier this year, other healthcare organizations saw a massive influx in delivery patients. In the immediate aftermath, Marshfield Clinic Health System reported a 160% increase in the number of deliveries they saw. Other providers have looked to fill the gaps in care left behind by the closures, but fully replacing two hospitals and a number of clinics requires long-term solutions.

With the grant funding, the Western Wisconsin Health Foundation plans to provide more specialized training for its obstetrical team, offer educational classes for expecting families, and provide more support for those families both before and after delivery. They also plan to expand their overall workforce to meet the growing demand of rural patients.