As construction workers operating heavy machinery work on a parking lot in the background, Marshfield Clinic Health System announced a different construction project would soon be starting.
“This new addition will go right where we’re standing today and should be completed within a year,” said Ty Erickson, chief administrative officer.
Connected to the new section of the Marshfield Medical Center-Minocqua hospital, the health system will be adding a new 45,000 square foot wing.
The most critical part of the expansion is the beds it will add. Marshfield will go from 19 to 31 inpatient rooms.
“I would say that a lot of the pressure we felt to get phase II built was just because of the high demand,” said Dr. Michael Schaars, vice president of medical affairs.
He says since the Minocqua hospital opened in June 2020 it has treated and discharged more than 2,000 patients.
It’s been pushed to the max many times in terms of number of beds needed and not just because of COVID
“Fortunately, we don’t really have much for COVID patients right now. We’ve had zero or maybe one at the most and we’re still full,” said Schaars.
This expansion will complete a picture of health care Marshfield Clinic first started envisioning more than seven years ago.
Back then doctors with Marshfield in Minocqua would treat patients at the clinic but would have to go across the street to Howard Young or another hospital for surgeries.
“That’s kind of opposite from a lot of other places where they might build the hospital, but they don’t have the medical staff to take care of the patients there. We were fortunate. We had the groundwork and the foundation already laid with 30 years of having physicians here,” said Dr. Schaars.
Doctor’s like urologist Matthew Thomas, who has been with Marshfield for 17 years, says having everything on one campus have improved how treats his patients.
He no longer has to run back and forth, sometimes literally, and often at the cost of patient appointments.
Thomas believes this expansion will only add to the improved care.
“We’ll be able to care for our patients and the members of our community within our community,” said Thomas.
