Marshfield Clinic breaks ground on new Rapids hospital
By Kris Leonhardt
WISCONSIN RAPIDS – Marshfield Clinic Health System (MCHS) broke ground on May 25 for its new hospital near the existing Wisconsin Rapids clinic at 220 24th Street.
The new “Marshfield Medical Center-River Region at Wisconsin Rapids” will offer inpatient beds, emergency department exam and procedure rooms, radiological services that include general x-ray, computed tomography and ultrasound, as well as on-site lab testing.
Ryan Neville, MCHS chief administrative officer, said the new facility is part of a growth model to bring specialists into the community.
“We have a lot of patients that have to really travel from one community into Marshfield or a bigger center. Our vision and mission is to take Marshfield specialists out into the community; so this is a prime example, if you look at the growth of the Wisconsin Rapids clinic – the specialists for how busy they are – but yet if you need something, you’ve got to be transported,” Neville said.
“We want to keep it local; we can keep hundreds of patients from going to a larger center, by investing in the community.
“We just opened the Stevens Point hospital. We are expanding our space up in Minocqua, the Rapids groundbreaking, and then there are plans in Medford.”
The health system is currently in the planning stages to add a community hospital in Medford.
“Earlier this month, we opened our Marshfield Medical Center River Region in Stevens Point. It is a great new facility up the road. Like Stevens Point, we’re going to bring acute care services her to Wisconsin Rapids,” explained Gordon Edwards, MCHS chief operating and financial officer.
“We think this brings an alternative care model for the community that integrates ambulatory medical group practice, as well as a litter higher-end group of services.
“Our philosophy is really pretty simple; we try to listen to our communities and partner with them. We believe in creating healthy communities, and we think that we are an active part of making that happen. We’ve served Wisconsin Rapids for two decades or so, and we believe that our patients and families here deserve something different, and we hope that that’s what everyone will experience when we open.”
The hospital is scheduled to be completed in spring 2023.
