ALTOONA, Wis. (WCFW) – Oakleaf Surgical Hospital has announced the completion of its new River Prairie Surgery Center at a former Prevea site in Altoona.

Since the abrupt closure of HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire, HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chippewa Falls, and all of the Prevea Clinics in the Chippewa Valley last year, Oakleaf Medical Network has greatly expanded its footprint in the region.

Last week, the organization announced it had completed construction work on a new surgical center in Altoona. The River Prairie Surgery Center will offer area residents another option for outpatient surgical procedures in a new state of the art facility.

According to a Leader Telegram report, organization officials expect to begin accepting patients in January after completing the accreditation process. They also say the new surgery center could accommodate as many as 9,000 patients per year.

Oakleaf Medical Network has opened a number of other new locations in the region since the HSHS and Prevea closures, including a new primary care clinic in Rice Lake and an urgent care facility in Eau Claire. While those facilities can’t fully replace the range of services lost following the closures, they can take some of the burden off the remaining hospitals in the area.

Organizations like Mayo Clinic and Marshfield Clinic have reported a significant increase in emergency room visits since the closures, as well as an increase in the need for labor and delivery services. Chippewa Falls residents in particular have struggled with inadequate access to emergency care as plans for new hospitals come to fruition.

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