CLOSED FOR GOOD. St. Joseph's Hospital in Chippewa Falls, shown here, and Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire were closed in March by Hospital Sisters Health System. (Photo by Tom Giffey)

A brand-new cooperative has begun an ambitious effort to create a new community-owned hospital in the Chippewa Valley. Organizers of the Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative say their work will take years, millions of dollars, and a widespread commitment from the communities still reeling from the abrupt closure of two hospitals and numerous clinics.

The co-op, which was officially announced Feb. 29, has been working swiftly to create an organizational structure as well as to fast-track services it might provide. It is the work for seven organizers – all well-known business, community, and volunteer leaders in the Valley – who aim to have a membership cooperative and a more permanent board in place by this summer.

“We want people to know that we’re all hopeful that this is going to happen, and we need to solve the healthcare crisis in our area, and that’s what our goal is,” said Patricia “Patti” Darley of Chippewa Falls, one of the organizers, who served on the joint board of directors of Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s hospitals. Both hospitals, which were operated by Illinois-based Hospital Sisters Health System, closed March 22. In addition, 19 clinics in the region operated by Prevea have also closed or soon will be.

”

We have a strong support from the network physicians, and we’re building strong support in the community. We still have to deal with the facilities piece.

MIKE SANDERS

CONSULTANT TO THE CHIPPEWA VALLEY HEALTH COOPERATIVE

In an interview, Darley and fellow co-op founder Bob Krause – an Eau Claire businessman who also served on Sacred Heart’s board – said they were surprised and saddened by the closures.

“This is like a Titanic going into something,” Krause said. “It’s going real slow, but the impact’s going to be felt for years. We’re doing what we have to do so we can lessen that impact.”

To that end, they say, they wanted to form a nonprofit co-op to ensure that decisions about the future of Chippewa Valley healthcare will be made in the Chippewa Valley. They are being helped by Mike Sanders, a former medical system CEO from the Madison area and now a managing partner of 1100 Partners, a consulting firm. Among the ways the co-op is considering to fill the gaps left by the hospitals’ closure is to create a new, independent community hospital, Sanders said.

The figures above indicate local hospitals’ shares of each category in 2022, according to data from the Wisconsin Hospital Association. “Mayo” means Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire, “Marshfield” indicates the Marshfield Clinic Hospital in Eau Claire, and “SH+SJ” represents the combined total of Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s hospitals, which closed in March. (Source: Wisconsin Hospital Association via Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative)

And those gaps are wide: According to 2022 data collected by the Wisconsin Hospital Association, the hospitals had a combined average of 125 inpatients daily, and together delivered 770 babies each year. The two hospitals also had a combined 22,000 emergency room visits annually.

“The goal of the new hospital would be to replace much of this capacity,” Sanders said. At least initially, a new hospital would offer some – but not all – of the services provides by the two shuttered hospitals, including emergency services, a critical care unit, labor and delivery, inpatient hospital beds, a lab, a cancer center, a cardiac catheterization lab, and imaging services. The hospital would accept all payers – including Medicaid and Medicare – and would be open to independent physicians.

That’s of particular interest to the 135 independent physicians of the OakLeaf Medical Network. They were the primary physicians serving Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s, and lost hospital privileges when they closed. In fact, OakLeaf Medical Network is helping fund the effort, several OakLeaf physicians are serving as advisors, and OakLeaf doctors plan to donate toward to the co-op (although, because of its anticipated nonprofit status, they will receive no ownership stake).

“We’re going to be encountering probably the biggest fundraiser in the Chippewa Valley ever – that’s my estimate.”

BOB KRAUSE

BOARD OF ORGANIZERS, CHIPPEWA VALLEY HEALTH COOPERATIVE

“We have a strong support from the network physicians, and we’re building strong support in the community,” Sanders said. “We still have to deal with the facilities piece.”

Even on a fast track, a new hospital is probably at least three years away, Sanders said, although some services could be faster. For example, the co-op is exploring the feasibility of a free-standing cancer treatment center that a hospital could be attached to later.

“The energy is strong from the members of the cooperative and the physicians,” Sanders said. “Our plan is to capture that energy and deliver on the needs.”

More than energy will be needed, of course: So will many millions of dollars, which could come from government grants, debt financing, and community fundraising.

“We’re going to be encountering probably the biggest fundraiser in the Chippewa Valley ever – that’s my estimate,” Krause said.

Learn more about the Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative online at chippewavalleyhealthcooperative.com.