CHIPPEWA VALLEY HEALTH COOPERATIVE EVALUATING ST. JOSEPH’S AS BRIDGE TO NEW HOSPITAL

Dec 9, 2024

GOAL: To Take Care of Patients As Fast As Possible

CHIPPEWA FALLS, WI – December 9, 2024 – With a goal of taking care of patients as fast as possible, the Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative has signed a letter of intent with HSHS to purchase and reopen the St. Joseph’s Hospital facility in Chippewa Falls to provide urgently needed healthcare services while the Cooperative builds the planned new state-of-the-art hospital, which is slated to open in fall 2027.

The Cooperative has until early April 2025 to conduct thorough due diligence to determine if reopening the hospital is financially possible. The St. Joseph’s facility has significant deferred maintenance that may need to be addressed before the hospital can be reopened. If it’s feasible, the Cooperative could open its doors at the St. Joseph’s campus as early as fall 2025.

Chippewa Valley residents need access to substantially increased healthcare services locally and quickly to address the large gaps in service created when the two regional hospitals and 19 clinics were closed earlier this year.

“Since we started the Cooperative, we’ve been singularly focused on making high-quality healthcare accessible and affordable for Chippewa Valley residents as fast as possible,” said Robert Krause, Chair of the Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative. “The new facility we’ve planned in Lake Hallie is fundamental to the long-term sustainability of the hospital. At the same time, if we can, reopening the St. Joseph’s facility in 2025 will help us serve patients faster and doesn’t impede our plans or ability to open the new hospital.”

Research the Cooperative conducted and commissioned earlier this year definitively showed the need for a flexible, modern, state-of-the-art facility designed for the future in an easily accessible location to best serve the greater Chippewa Valley area region.

Mike Sanders, Managing Director of 1100 Partners and former CEO of Monroe Clinic, who has been working hand-in-hand with the Cooperative since it was formed, added, “There is no silver bullet to solve this situation sustainably for the long term. This important work takes considerable time and resources. If the Cooperative can reopen the St. Joseph’s facility, it will be an important bridge strategy to help close the healthcare gap residents are experiencing now as the new hospital is being built.”

Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative begins the onsite evaluation process this week.

“We ask for the community’s patience while we do the necessary investigation and due diligence to evaluate whether reopening the St. Joseph’s is financially feasible,” added Krause. “We have an expert team on the case who wants to make this happen and are looking at every option so that the Cooperative can start taking care of patients as soon as possible.”

The Cooperative has hired recognized experts in hospital administration and operations and is well supported by University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension specialists in trauma care, emergency medical services, and public facilities financing.

Services

St. Joseph’s Hospital had fewer services and less capacity when it closed than what is planned for the new community hospital in Lake Hallie.

Assuming the Cooperative is able to reopen the St. Joseph’s facility, it would immediately offer the following healthcare services using existing facilities: 25 hospital beds, with a 5-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU), an Emergency Department, Medical-Surgical services, Labor & Delivery, wound care with two hyperbaric chambers, and comprehensive diagnostic services, including laboratory, radiology, and cardiac rehabilitation therapies. The Cooperative would also add cancer treatment services before the new hospital is opened.

In addition, if it can reopen the St. Joseph’s facility, the Cooperative is committed to reopening the morgue to serve the surrounding counties.

Need For New Hospital

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 Lake Hallie location for the new hospital was chosen based on substantial research on regional traffic flow, demographics, and projected growth patterns for Wisconsin. On the west side of the Highway 53 North-South corridor between Chippewa Falls and Eau Claire, the new hospital will also have convenient access to Interstate 94 and East-West County Highways 29 and 12. Importantly, the new hospital will be easily accessible for emergency services from the entire region.

Compared to the over 50-year-old St. Joseph’s building, the new hospital will be built to meet the needs of modern medicine, be flexible to adapt to future changes in healthcare delivery practices easily, and will maximize energy efficiency, which will have a significant positive impact on operational costs over time.

“Medicine has changed dramatically in the last 50 years,” added Sanders. “The cost to modernize and make the St. Joseph’s facility financially feasible for the next 50 years is prohibitive. As a short-term solution, we hope the St. Joseph’s facility can fill a critical need as the Cooperative builds the long-term, future-forward hospital.”

The Cooperative board believes that most of the investment required to reopen the St. Joseph’s facility will be transferrable to the new hospital.

Future Ideas

While in the long run it makes considerable economic sense to move to the planned new hospital, which will provide more capacity and services, the Cooperative commits to actively seeking other healthcare uses for the former St. Joseph’s hospital site once the move to the new hospital is complete.

“Once we understand whether reopening St. Joseph’s is possible, we will be in high gear to start caring for patients as fast as possible,” said Krause. “Then we will turn our attention to exploring other healthcare uses for the building once we’ve opened the new full-service hospital in Lake Hallie.”

Local Governance

As a cooperative whose community members come from the greater 18-county Chippewa Valley region, the Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative is governed by and accountable to the people of the Chippewa Valley.

“We are committed to our community,” added Krause. “Our members will be responsible for participating in future planning and determining board leadership. One way Chippewa Valley residents can help the Cooperative is to become a member.”

About the Cooperative

The Chippewa Valley Heath Cooperative is an independently governed, locally rooted nonprofit organization committed to making high-quality healthcare accessible and affordable for the residents of the 18 counties in Wisconsin’s Chippewa Valley region. Focused on patient-centered care, prevention, and education, the Cooperative strives to make a lasting, positive impact on the Chippewa Valley’s health and well-being for generations to come. Formed on February 29, 2024, the Cooperative is a Wisconsin Chapter 193 cooperative and a registered 501c3 tax-exempt nonprofit organization. More information at www.chippewavalleyhealthcooperative.org.

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Kamal Thapar

Kamal Thapar, MD, PhD., FRSC, FAANS, FCNS

is widely respected by patients, their families, and their doctors. Dr. Kamal Thapar has served the region for more than two decades. He maintains one of the largest private neurosurgical practices in Wisconsin and provides the full spectrum of advanced neurosurgical care. Dr. Thapar has held leadership roles at Marshfield Clinic, Sacred Heart Hospital, and Chippewa Valley Orthopedics. He specializes in minimally invasive and reconstructive spine surgery, brain tumor surgery, pituitary tumor surgery, and skull base surgery.
Erik Dickson

Eric Rygg

President of 4th generation Silver Spring Foods and Huntsinger Farms, lives in Eau Claire with his wife and three children. Among his volunteer community service, Eric has served as Host and Executive Committee member for the 2021 Wisconsin Farm Days, and currently serves on Eau Claire Confluence Arts/Pablo Center, and the Culinary Advisor Committee for Chippewa Valley Technical College. He earned his BA from Middlebury College, and an MBA, Food Marketing from Saint Joseph’s University – Erivan K. Haub School of Business.
Erik Dickson

David Nelson

Retired after 30 years as a health system finance administrator with five national and regional health systems and five years in public accounting focused on healthcare companies, Dave Nelson dedicated his career to not-for-profit organizations providing health services for local communities. Active in the community, he has served on numerous nonprofit and private boards of directors, including as the Past Chair and Emeritus Board member of the American Red Cross of NW Wisconsin. He is also Disaster Assistant Director for the Red Cross, responding in leadership roles to over 25 disasters.
Erik Dickson

Mickey Judkins

is the CEO of Details, Inc. and a recognized business and entrepreneurial consultant. She has served on many boards in the Chippewa Valley and Madison, including as President of the Eau Claire Economic Development Corporation, and as a director of the Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce board. She also served on Business Forward’s Local Leadership Council in Washington, D.C., working to bring the small business perspective to the President’s policy making. She was active on the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Advisory Board for Chancellors Mash and Levin-Stankevich. In 2007, Governor Jim Doyle appointed Mickey Executive Director and Administrator of the Investment and Export Division of the Wisconsin Department of Commerce. She graduated magna cum laude from UW-Eau Claire with a BA in Sociology. She lives in Eau Claire with her husband Jeff Rochon.

Erik Dickson

Peter Hoeft

is CEO and Owner of Hoeft Builders Inc, a 40-year-old construction management firm he has led for the last 20 years. Raised in Eau Claire, Peter attended Regis High School, where he met his wife, Jill; they have twin boys. Peter has served on many community boards including Chippewa Valley Airport Commission (current), WNB Bank (current), Children's Museum of Eau Claire, Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce, and the Eau Claire Area Economic Development Committee. He holds a B.S. in Construction Management from Colorado State University.

Erik Dickson

Erik Dickson, MD

has provided medical care to the people of Chippewa County for more than 25 years, his entire career has been dedicated to this community. As a family medicine physician at OakLeaf Clinics in Chippewa Falls and medical director for our Urgent Care locations in Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire, and Menomonie, I’ve worked on the front lines of local healthcare—helping families through everyday challenges and urgent needs alike. I also work as a first responder and EMS Medical Director in Chippewa County. In addition to my clinical practice, I serve as the medical director for several area nursing homes, where I work closely with our senior population to ensure continuity, compassion, and dignity in care. My affiliations with organizations such as the American Academy of Family Physicians and the National Association of EMS Physicians reflect my deep commitment to best practices and physician leadership. I am board-certified in Family Medicine with the American Board of Family Medicine.

Robert Krause

Kyle Dettbarn, MD

has called the Chippewa Valley home for more than two decades. Since moving here in 2003, he has served this community as a physician specializing in pulmonary, critical care, internal medicine, and sleep health. Today, he serves as Board President of the Oakleaf Medical Network—a network that has remained committed to patient-focused care for over 30 years.

Robert Krause

Patti Darley

Vice Chair
retired, from Xcel Energy’s Customer Service Department and before that Cray, Inc.’s Technical Training Department. Patti is a long-time resident of Chippewa Falls, and is well known for her volunteer service in the community. She has been an elected or appointed member of the board of directors of HSHS St. Joseph’s and Sacred Heart Hospitals, the Community Foundation of Chippewa County, and Give Chippewa County, as well as in many other volunteer organizations. She has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Marquette University.