Hospital Sisters Health System will close two hospitals in Western Wisconsin in the next two months, a move that will terminate the nonprofit system's presence in the region.
HSHS announced Jan. 22 that it will close its Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire and St. Joseph's Hospital in Chippewa Falls, "around the end of the first quarter of 2024." The hospitals are 192 beds and 102 beds, respectively, according to the American Hospital Directory.
Additionally, HSHS is closing all locations and health centers it operates in Western Wisconsin in partnership with Green Bay, Wis.-based multispecialty group Prevea Health. The majority of the health centers — which include a range of settings, including urgent care centers, clinics and medical offices — are expected to be closed by April 21, except for the Prevea residency clinics that will close by June 30. The number of sites that will close was not initially specified by HSHS.
The system attributes the hospital closures to "prolonged operational and financial stress related to lingering impacts of the pandemic, inflation, workforce constraints, local market challenges and other industrywide trends."
Sacred Heart Hospital dates back to 1889 and St. Joseph's Hospital dates back to 1885.
"While HSHS and Prevea intended to create an integrated health delivery model in Western Wisconsin in 2015, our operations in the region have struggled for the past several years due to a mismatch in the supply of and demand for local healthcare services," HSHS President and CEO Damond Boatwright said in a statement. "We closely considered all other options and sought strategic alternatives. After an agreement with a suitable partner did not work out, it was determined that exiting the market is the only feasible path forward."
The "suitable partner" was not specified, and an attempted integration or agreement by HSHS has not been previously reported. The closure of St. Joseph's comes after HSHS suspended its surgical services in October. Earlier last fall, the health system saw the abrupt departure of its CFO, Kim Hodgkinson. The health system and Prevea also experienced an extensive IT outage last summer, which impaired its billing and collection capabilities.
Mr. Boatwright assumed his role at the top of HSHS in June 2021. He previously served as regional president of SSM Health in Wisconsin.
The closures affect approximately 1,082 HSHS employees and 325 Prevea employees. In its news release, HSHS said all affected workers will receive career transition support, "including the potential to seek positions elsewhere in the organizations, if possible."
The closures will bring HSHS, established in 1978, from a 15-hospital to a 13-hospital system. It is headquartered in Springfield, Ill.