TREMPEAULEAU COUNTY, Wis. (WEAU) – A project to elevate the quality of health care in rural Trempealeau County will come sooner than expected.
Construction on the new Gundersen Tri-County Hospital is expected for Spring of 2024 will be complete by November of this year.
Hospital administrator Joni Olson said it has been a long time coming.
“Oh, my gosh. It’s been quite a journey, but this started long before I came in 2017,” said Olson.
She is thrilled to be a part of something she said will be great for the community the hospital serves.
“So there were a lot of discussions. A lot of consultants who were brought in to see what we should do with this building to bring it into the state of the art needs that we have today,” said Olson. “It’s been a great learning for everyone involved in aspects and perspectives that you need to bring in to a project like this. It involves a community. We’re right here in the center of Whitehall”
The multi-million dollar new facility will expand access to health care. Olson said he would offer new services for everyone within the 30-mile radius of the hospital.
That includes expanding space for the emergency rooms, operating rooms and even dedicated rooms for trauma cases among other things.
“We provide primary care. We provide rehabilitation. We provide everything from all aspects of wellness. We’re going to be having a lot of new programs in the new building. Including diabetic counseling. Things that people had to travel else where for will now be close to home,” said Olson. “It’s designed as such so that there’s a collaborative area between the physicians in primary care and their supporting teams or the lab. Medical assistants, RN, behavioral health, all of that is encompassed under that one roof.”
These new services could be cheaper as well. Olson said the new facility will be on the path to energy independence.
“The solar installs that we’re planning should reduce energy costs by 50% to 60%. Health care is not an easy business to be in. Anything that will help us reduce our overall cost of care is going to benefit the public in the long run,” said Olson.
With the grand opening on the horizon, Olson said what was most exciting was seeing how this would truly help out the underserved rural communities in Trempealeau County.
“We’ve established a foothold here. We have a long standing relationship with this area. And we don’t want to leave these communities without that crucial emergency care, and primary care. We’re anxious for people to see the result of what they helped us build.”
The new Gundersen facility is expected to open its doors on July 24th. Olson said there will also be an open house for the contributors of the project and the public as well on July 12th.
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