St. Joseph’s Could Reopen as ‘Bridge’ to New Hospital in Lake Hallie
cooperative says it’s negotiating with HSHS to buy shuttered facility
V1 Staff |
St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chippewa Falls could reopen – at least temporarily – as early as next fall, the Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative announced Monday.
The cooperative said it has signed a letter of intent with Hospital Sisters Health System, the Illinois-based owner of the hospital, to purchase and reopen the facility. St. Joseph’s shut its doors last March, just 60 days after HSHS announced it would be closing the hospital. Eau Claire’s Sacred Heart Hospital, also owned by HSHS, closed at the same time.
A reopened St. Joseph’s would serve as a “bridge strategy” to providing healthcare to the region, the co-op said, while the group works to build a new hospital in Lake Hallie, which is aims 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 organization said in an announcement Monday. “The St. Joseph’s facility has significant deferred maintenance that may need to be addressed before the hospital can be reopened.”
The nonprofit Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative was formed last February in response to the closure of the two hospitals and 19 affiliated clinics in the region.
“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, the cooperative’s chairman. “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.”
The co-op announced last week that it intends to build a “full-service, independent, locally-governed, nonprofit hospital,” which will be 144,000 square feet and include 48 beds, a 12-bed Intensive Care Unit, an emergency department, medical-surgical services, labor and delivery, critical care units, a comprehensive cancer center, as well as comprehensive diagnostic services, such as laboratory, radiology, and cardiology services.
Read more about the new announcement on the co-op’s website.
