Mayo Clinic is striving to help close a significant gap in patient care in Western Wisconsin, where two hospitals and almost 20 clinics are expected to close in the coming months.
The move comes as Springfield, Ill.-based Hospital Sisters Health System, currently a 15-hospital system, announced plans to abruptly exit the Wisconsin market.
HSHS is expected to close St. Joseph's Hospital in Chippewa Falls on March 22 and Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire on or before April 21. The system will also close multiple clinics it operates with Green Bay-based multispecialty group Prevea Health by June 30.
Mayo operates 16 hospitals and 53 multispecialty clinics across southern Minnesota, western Wisconsin and northern Iowa, but is working quickly to plug gaps in care that will be left once the HSHS hospitals and clinics close.
"Though we are exceptionally busy at all of our locations, we are actively working to identify opportunities to safely increase our ability to serve more patients," Richard Helmers, MD, regional vice president of Mayo northwest Wisconsin market, said in a news release. "We are committed to continuing to provide safe, high-quality care to those who need us, and we look forward to collaborating with others in the community to support everyone through these changes to our regional healthcare landscape."
Mayo is working on several initiatives to address concerns around to care, including:
- Increasing capacity at all four of its critical access hospitals in the region. The facilities are located in Barron, Bloomer, Menomonie and Osseo.
- Significantly boosting the capacity of its family birthing center.
- Identifying ways to expand emergency department and urgent care capacities across all sites.
- Promoting virtual care options: Primary Care On Demand Wis. is a new app that offers 24/7/365 access to care — including video visits with a physician — for various medical needs.
- Establishing a dedicated team to answer phone calls from people looking to establish themselves as primary care patients.
- Collaborating with Mayo sites in southwest Wisconsin for additional access for patients who can travel for care.
- Expanding the capacity of the Advanced Care at Home program, which allows some patients who would otherwise need to be hospitalized to receive virtual and in-person care at home.
- Prioritizing placement and recruitment for current openings in high-demand service lines.
- Adding more than 10,000 clinical hours for nursing students and other learners who need practical experience to complete their education and join the healthcare workforce.
- Participating in the Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce Recovery Task Force.