In a move designed to improve access to high-quality healthcare services for residents of central and northern Wisconsin, officials at Ministry Health Care, which is part of Ascension Wisconsin, and the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) are pursuing a partnership to expand adult patient care services in Wausau/Weston, Wisconsin, and the surrounding metro area. This effort will focus on MCW’s recruitment of specialty care clinicians who will live and practice in the area.
Earlier this year, Ministry announced its strategic plans to expand services in key communities along the Interstate 39 corridor and invest in its medical group to recruit more clinicians and enhance access to high-quality, compassionate, personalized care. A key community for Ministry is the Wausau/Weston area, where a state-of-the-art clinic is being built to begin providing services in fall 2016, and expansion of its specialty services at Ministry Saint Clare’s Hospital is planned to offer broader acute care services for patients closer to their homes.
“Establishing a relationship with MCW would move us forward rapidly to help achieve this goal,” said Daniel E. Neufelder, President and CEO of Ministry Health Care. “We are excited how this relationship would allow for our organization to expand access to medical care with highly trained specialists employed by the Medical College of Wisconsin. A partnership with MCW would allow Ministry to provide those we serve with greater access to more clinicians and extend Ministry’s ability to provide care to more people.”
For the past several years, MCW has been actively working to extend its reach into communities outside of southeastern Wisconsin so it can expand opportunities in medical education programs in locations including new regional campuses in Green Bay and Wausau.
“We believe the opportunity to work more closely with Ministry opens a number of doors for the MCW to extend the reach of our specialty care services and to allow for greater opportunities for medical education across key areas throughout the state,” said John R. Raymond, MD, President and CEO of MCW. “Both organizations have strong reputations for delivering high-quality care and are well-recognized regionally and nationally. This partnership would bring together the best of both organizations to better meet healthcare needs in many communities throughout Wisconsin.”
“Clinically integrated partnerships are critical to drive the value and quality of care for patients today,” said Dan DeBehnke, MD, CEO of Medical College Physicians Group. “We are continuing to evaluate opportunities to bring additional clinicians to our communities over time and expand our capacity to provide compassionate, personalized, specialty care to more people throughout central and northern Wisconsin.”
Both organizations are members of Integrated Health Network (IHN), the state’s first multi-system, clinically integrated accountable care network, a consortium of independent health systems, hospitals and physicians working together to improve the quality, efficiency and value of healthcare.
