The second story of a new Medical Services Building in Oconto Falls was humming last week, just a sign of the activity in store for later this month when the final offices in the building are scheduled to open.
Work began on the Medical Services Building at HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital in Oconto Falls in December 2013.
While signs of construction are still evident here and there, Prevea began welcoming patients to its second-floor clinic in early December. The clinic offers a wide range of services, all previously offered within HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital, but now at a larger, 36,000-square-foot facility at 853 S. Main St.
“This space allows us to bring many more specialists in the area,” said Dr. Ashok Rai, Prevea president and CEO.
Still-empty offices and exam rooms on the second floor await the start-up of an auditory testing lab and visits by ear, nose and throat specialists. Future plans include eye care providers and other specialties as the community expresses a need.
“The more specialties we bring up here, the less people have to travel,” Rai said. “So what I’m hearing from the community is, ‘Can you bring X up here? Can you bring Y?’”
In September, Community Memorial Hospital transitioned to the HSHS family, which connected it to two Green Bay hospitals, HSHS St. Mary’s and HSHS St. Vincent’s, and Prevea’s 60-plus health care sites. The affiliation links the medical services provided at all sites and allows specialists to see patients in Oconto Falls on a regular basis.
“It’s the same medical record, it’s the same continuity, so really there’s no reason to come down to Green Bay unless it’s a specialty or service we don’t offer up here,” Rai said.
While Prevea services are available on the second floor, the first floor, meanwhile, is home to Green Bay Oncology, now operating in a larger and more technologically advanced facility than the previous one at St. Clare. Sharing the first floor is Advanced Pain Management, which is transitioning from a site at St. Clare hospital, and HSHS St. Vincent Dialysis Center, which is new to the area.
Rai said the need exists for a dialysis center, based on the ZIP codes of individuals using the service in Green Bay, some driving from as far as Marinette.
“Dialysis is something that can happen two, three, four times a week, depending on the severity for the patient, and that’s a pretty long commute,” he said.
At the dialysis center last week, workers were hanging privacy curtains between treatment stations. The target opening date of the center is Monday. Two providers will offer care in the six-chair unit, which also has one isolation bed.
Dr. Michael Volk, of Green Bay Oncology, said the move to the Medical Services Building has been a positive one.
“There’s an open and inviting feel to it, so we like it there quite a bit,” he said.
The oncology services have not changed, but with more specialists on the St. Clare campus, Volk said new opportunities have evolved for health care providers to interact.
In addition, whereas portable computers were used in the old facility, the new exam rooms are equipped with computers and Internet access, and providers can easily pull up a CT scan, X-ray or informational materials.
“If we need to make educational material available or discuss a new finding or medication, we can do it right there with the patient,” Volk said.
Higher patient volume led the clinic to expand its hours.
“We’ve gone from three days to four days, and eventually to five days,” Volk said.
A corridor links the Medical Services Building to the hospital building, providing indoor access to all points of the campus.
As medical services transition from the hospital to the new facility, the abandoned space at St. Clare will be repurposed, Rai said.
“It allows us to create a whole campus plan that we couldn’t do previously, because essentially, we were land-locked,” he said. “With all the offices in there, there was no room for expansion.”
The Medical Services Building was constructed on the site of a smaller administration building, which was torn down. While the construction project was under way, administrative offices were located off-site but have since returned to the St. Clare campus.
The building is the home base for five Prevea providers and four staff members, with additional employees assigned as necessary.
Reconstruction of the parking lot added 184 spaces to the campus, which now has room for 436 vehicles. Parking is available close to the building for easy patient access, and an elevator at the front entrance provides quick access to the second floor.
“We wanted to make this environment much more patient-centric,” Rai said.
“The whole mission of Prevea and HSHS is to put our patients first, and that even includes when we do construction,” he added.
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