After sudden hospital closure, Chippewa Falls could be getting a new ER, clinic

Nearly eight months after the only hospital in Chippewa Falls closed, the western Wisconsin city is getting a new facility.

Aspirus Health, a Wausau-based health system that operates 18 hospitals in the region, announced Thursday that it’s working to build a new facility in Chippewa Falls.

The hospital and clinic could be open in as little as 18 months, according to Aspirus president and CEO Matt Heywood.

“Our progressive model is to get in as fast as we can into that community, get them the services that they need as quick as we can,” Heywood said in a statement. “That would start with an emergency room. It would be hospital beds, it would be basic lab and radiology services, as well as a clinic. Then as time progresses and as we work with the community, we may have the ability to scale up that site.”

A spokesperson for Aspirus declined WPR’s interview request. But the health system shared in a press release that it’s working to secure a site near Highway 29 that would have “capacity for future growth.”

The health system was one of several that expanded services at their existing locations ahead of the March closure of Hospital Sisters Health System’s St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chippewa Falls and Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire.

When the health system announced the closure in January, HSHS said the decision came after “prolonged operational and financial stress” from the COVID-19 pandemic, workforce limitations and “local market challenges.”

The rapid closure of the two hospitals and their network of regional clinics caused concern among patients and community leaders about access to health care in the Chippewa Valley region.

Chippewa Falls Mayor Greg Hoffman said community members have been able to find care at other health systems in the region. But he said city leaders are eager to see an emergency room and some services return to the community, saying it will help address public safety concerns and better “position (the city) for the future.”

“This is what we need; this is what we can do,” Hoffman said. “This will have a tremendous impact on the health and the wellbeing of people in Chippewa Falls, Chippewa County, the Chippewa Valley (region).”

Hoffman said city officials have been working with Aspirus on plans for the new facility for months. He thinks 18 months is a realistic timeline for the project, especially if the health system is able to break ground this spring.

Jim Matheson, Aspirus’ senior vice president and chief strategy officer, said in a statement that local communities have made it clear “they value local access to emergency and hospital care.”

“Yet environmental and industry challenges make it very difficult for a hospital to succeed in an area like Chippewa Falls,” Matheson said in the press release. “Fortunately, Aspirus has a proven track record of success and we are confident in our strategy to sustain and grow services here.”