A new hospital is set to join the Chippewa Valley landscape. Below is the information provided by The Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative.
“The Cooperative’s new full-service hospital will provide a wide range of healthcare services here, not a long ambulance or helicopter ride away.”
The Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative is building a full-service, independent, locally-governed, nonprofit hospital in Lake Hallie, with a goal to open in fall 2027. The decision came after exhaustive research to determine the optimal configuration, healthcare service offering, location, and long-term sustainability requirements for a new independent hospital in the Chippewa Valley.
The Cooperative’s new 144,000-square-foot state-of-the-art hospital will be a flexible facility including 48 hospital beds, with a 12-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU), an Emergency Department, Medical-Surgical services, Labor & Delivery, critical care units, a comprehensive Cancer Center, and comprehensive diagnostic services, including laboratory, radiology, and cardiology services. The new hospital will also have a comprehensive therapy unit to offer physical, occupational, and speech therapies. The projected cost for the new hospital is $120 million, with a total project cost of $158 million, including start-up costs, substantially less than initial estimates.
The Cooperative is also exploring ways to bring behavioral health services to the community.
“Our community and our research have made it abundantly clear that our growing region needs access to more local, effective, and affordable healthcare services in many critical areas,” said Robert Krause, Chair of the Board of Organizers for the Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative. “The Cooperative’s new full-service hospital will provide a wide range of healthcare services here, not a long ambulance or helicopter ride away.”
The new independent hospital will employ over 410 full-time employees, not including medical staff. The medical staff will include qualified and accredited physicians from throughout the region. The OakLeaf Medical Network, the largest independent network of physicians and clinics in Western Wisconsin, has pledged to support the new hospital. OakLeaf Medical Network clinics care for over 55,000 local primary care patients.
The Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative, a 501c3 non-profit organization, was formed on February 29, 2024, just six weeks after HSHS announced it was exiting Western Wisconsin. With the goal of transforming the healthcare landscape in the Chippewa Valley and ensuring the local community is not solely dependent on hospital services owned by and accountable to organizations outside our region, the Cooperative has moved quickly to be able to help close the significant healthcare gaps the community is experiencing today.
“We have moved as fast as we could without cutting corners with due diligence to determine the size, location, and range of healthcare services we need to put in place to ensure that our community has access to exceptional, local, cost-effective healthcare for generations to come,” added Krause. “No longer will out-of-town hospital systems control the destiny of all hospital services for our community.”
The Cooperative conducted a wide range of research, is amply supported by University of Wisconsin Extension specialists in cooperative formation and governance, trauma care, emergency medical services, and public facilities financing, and contracted with Wipfli, a nationally recognized expert in healthcare, to conduct a comprehensive feasibility study for the new hospital.
“We have turned over every leaf to get the best information and data possible to help us make our decision and ensure the long-term viability of a thriving, local, independent hospital,” added Krause.
Location
The Cooperative evaluated many different locations throughout Eau Claire and Chippewa Counties for the new hospital, ultimately choosing a 20-acre parcel in Lake Hallie along the Highway 53 North-South corridor with convenient access to Interstate 94 and East-West County Highways 29 and 12. The decision was based on extensive and detailed modeling of traffic flow, demographics, and projected growth patterns for the area. Importantly, this location is easily accessible for emergency services.
The Cooperative has entered into an agreement with Dave and John Markquart to purchase the land.
