Chippewa Falls City Council to Consider Aspirus Hospital Site

The Chippewa Falls City Council is expected to consider the site chosen for the new Aspirus Health hospital at their Tuesday meeting.

The selection of the new hospital site is the latest in a string of good news for Chippewa Valley residents who have been struggling with access to healthcare following the closure of Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chippewa Falls earlier this year. Aspirus Health announced their intent to build a new facility in the area in November, and has spent the last few weeks honing in on an acceptable site for it.

The organization’s main criteria for the eventual location was convenient access to Highway 29 and space for future expansion. According to a Leader Telegram report, the City Plan Commission approved a survey map for the hospital last week, showing a 22.1 acre property along Chippewa Crossing Boulevard east of the city’s fire station.

Organization officials say the preliminary plans for the facility had already been completed when the announcement was made in November. It will include emergency and inpatient beds, primary care, and lab and imaging services. They say the facility could be operational in as little as 18 months from the start of construction, which they hope to break ground on this Spring.

In addition to the new Aspirus Health facility, the Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative has also recently announced new hospital plans. The organization is currently planning a new independent community hospital in Lake Hallie which they hope to open in late 2027. They’ve also signed a letter of intent to purchase the St. Joseph’s Hospital property in Chippewa Falls, which could be reopened by the end of 2025 if they find it to be financially feasible.

As those projects get underway, Chippewa Valley lawmakers have renewed calls for the State Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee to release $15 million in approved funding to support the healthcare industry in the meantime. The emergency funding was approved shortly after the announcement of the HSHS closures, but has sat in the Republican-controlled committee for months after Governor Tony Evers used line item vetoes to make the funding more flexible.